Uncharted: Curse of the moon
by Schmidtinho
Summary: After a (what was supposed to be a normal trip) goes completely wrong. Nathan Drake finds himself once again in the middle of a hunt for a treasure and a fight for his life. On their journey, he and his friends uncover one of the biggest bluffs in the history.
1. Musuem visit

Well hello there.

Thanks for clicking on my story and giving it a read and welcome to my first _Uncharted _fan fiction.

This is the second genre in which I am releasing a story on this site. The first was a three-part Story in _The Lion King_ section which I began posting over a year ago and finished earlier this year. And so I started with the next project which you can read here.

So why the stretch from _Lion King_ to _Uncharted?_

I really enjoy the games and really liked playing through all three more than once. In order to write this story, I began reading the fourth labyrinth which I haven't finished yet. So the references on that Book might take number in later chapter.

You might have noticed by now that English is not my home language. So I apologize in advance for grammar mistakes that might sound odd to you native speakers. Yet I write in English so that I can reach a wider space of possible readers.

As for this story… I tried to summon a plot that orientates itself on real life events and person but changes some stuff to get it into the fictional part that we will discover throughout the story. Also there will be mentioning of real places and cities which I have not been to myself. I apologize to some people who might find the descriptions not true to the original.

There will also be usage of various languages throughout the chapters. Since I only know German, English and some rare pieces of Spanish, I got most of the phrases from an online dictionary.

But for now, let's go and start with the story… Uncharted, its characters and products are trademark and copyrighted by Sony Computer entertainment and Naughty Dog. Only the original characters belong to me.

* * *

**UNCHARTED: CURSE OF THE MOON**

* * *

"The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church.

**~ Ferdinand Magellan ~**

* * *

- 1 -

Museum visit

* * *

**Lisbon, Portugal: Iberian Peninsula**

In the western of Europe; on the Iberian Peninsula right beside Spain, lies the country called Portugal. During the 15th and 16th century, this nation was named one of the biggest sailing and naval nations of the world. Great sailors and explorers of history had set course from this country. Men like Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and Bartolomais Dias. Even Christoph Columbus was a Portuguese.

The main capitol of this city was called Lisbon and laid in the south west of the country. It was a beautiful city with a lot of history and a lot of historical buildings. During a big earthquake in 1755, a lot of those buildings had been destroyed which lead most of the ones left standing in the district of Belém. It inhabited the old harbor which was the starting point for all those sailing exploration, and in this district stood the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, the national museum of archeology.

It was a huge building made of white stones and designed in Manueline style. Several small tower shaped spikes emerged at the side wall of the building and large windows were set across the walls. A grassy lied between the house and the streets. Two statues stood on each side of the main entrance where a huge banner was placed just above. On it was written in Portuguese and English… "Great explorers and travelers in world's history".

Lots of people had gathered in front of the main entrance in a line as well as some others walking over the place in front and inside. Most of them were Portuguese and European with some Japanese and Chinese in between. But in the midst of all those people stood three Americans.

The first one was a man in his mid thirties. He was well built and had short and spiky dark brown hair. Hs eyes were of a green color and he wore a black long sleeve shirt which was half tucked to the elbows. He also had on blue jeans and black sporting shoes to go with it. Even though he didn't seem to be right out bored, there was a slight disinterest in the things happening with the other two people accompanying him.

Beside him stood another man with a white t-shirt, a black cap on his head and black working trousers. He also had a vest with lots of filming and technical equipment on him which anybody could tell belonged to the camera he was carrying on his back. Just like the dark brown haired man, he had his gaze directed to the third person in the group holding a microphone.

It was a woman in about the same age as the spiky haired man. She had blonde hair which was formed in a messy pony tail bun. She was about 5,4" high with a slim athletic figure. As clothes, she wore a dark anthracite button up shirt with long sleeves tucked half way up as well. She also had khaki trousers going along with brown shoes.

She kept talking into the microphone while she once in a while stared into the back. "[…] so with tat said, let's dive into the world of the greatest explorers of this time period." She ended her moderation and waited for the cameraman to finish recording. Short after, she came walking over to the duo before handing the microphone over to him. "I guess that's and alright start to this. Take the mic Josh, I guess we take the next shots from the inside." She added before turning towards the man with the dark brown hair.

"Don't say I didn't warn you about this being a bit dragging from time to time." She remarked as she gave him a smile and a quick kiss on the cheek.

Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher-Drake share a lot of history together. Drake has been mostly for being a treasure and fortune hunter while some bad tongues would just describe as being a thief. The two of them first met on an expedition to find the coffin of Sir Francis Drake, which Nathan called out to be one of his ancestors. During that time, they went out to find El Dorado which formed their relationship and their love for a long time.

Both had been through a lot together and even had to go through a possible divorce at some time. But ever since their return from Yemen and the discovery of the lost city of Ubar, the two were inseparable. Since Elena matured from hosting a low budget archeology show to a well known and respected investigative journalist, she barely went back to _small _stories like the opening of a new museum exhibition. But after hunting war criminals that were thought to be dead and going into various crises in the Middle East, she felt it was a nice idea to do finally something small again.

And the fact that she could bring her husband with her was also a welcome exchange.

Nathan smiled back on her and stared towards the sky before facing the blonde woman again. "It really is a bit dragging, but I can manage." He simply said as the trio began walking towards the inside of the building.

From the inside, the museum looked just like the outside would presume it. The walls and the ceiling were set in white and sand colored stones pillars spread over the halls and the sides of the corridors. Showcases and cabinets stood all through the building with paintings and carpets along with banners were set at the walls.

Photographers were taking pictures around the place while other people just walked around and just viewed and looked at the artifacts and utensils in the showcases. Again, Josh and Elena went to their work as his wife took a spot in front of a large glass box as the man directed his camera on her ready to record.

This time, Nathan stared to the side with his arms folded and his eyes rolling a bit. His gaze locked on the cabinet to his side and his eyes went wide open right again. The headline of the cabinet read the words "Sir Francis Drake". Nathan shook his head back a little before he stared around the things standing and lying in the showcase. _Now that seems like a sign._ He thought in a sarcastic way and the edges of his muzzle began to move upwards.

Once again, his eyes slowly wandered to the side and the small amount of amusement that he felt before completely vanished and got substituted with wonder and astonishment. Just on the far corner of the hall stood a figure that Nathan never thought he would see again.

It was a man in the same age than him. He was just as well built if not a bit skinnier and even more athletic than Nate with a buzz cut and light brown hair. He was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a red tie. Walking around and with a nonchalant style, he kept glaring to the side into the showcases left and right before taking gazed to nervously to the sides.

Drake knew these kinds of movement all too well. It was the movement of someone trying to do a job. Slowly and without Elena and Josh realizing, he moved through the crowd and came up with the man having his back turned on him. "Chris Cortina, you were the last person that I expected to meet here." He called out and noticed the man stopped dead right away as he shrugged his shoulders together while turning around.

His eyes were dark brown and he stared at Drake as if he would have found himself back in the wrong movie. "Na-than Drake!? Of all the people…" He started and began folding his arms.

The two glanced at each other with everybody walking by sensing the history that lie above the duo. "So…" Nathan began saying folding his arms as well. "Anything you are especially interested in?" he asked with the edges of his mouth going upwards a little bit. "Since, there are a lot of interesting things standing around here."

"Funny you should mention that. Since I guess this is the only time I saw you in a museum within its regular opening times and not completely covered in black wearing a mask." He remarked giggling slightly. Nathan joined in on the laugh in a sarcastic way as he went forth and nudged Cortina on the shoulder.

For a few seconds, none of them spoke another word before Nathan started to wander around the cabinet that the other man had been looking at moments ago. "So what have you been up to lately? Last time I checked, you were in south East Asia to get a diamond form your last heist sold, and then you vanished. Some even reported you to be dead."

Chris put his hands into his hip as he kept glancing around the hall with a slightly annoyed way. "Some part of that is true; I got kinda stuck within my problems so that I had to act like I was dead." Putting his hands on the small wooden counter around the cabinet, he gasped and stared through the glass once again. "But then again, what happened to you. When I see your face, you have must have been through a lot."

"Oh you have no idea!" Nathan simply replied putting his hands into his hips and turning slightly to the side.

But before the two could go on, a voice interrupted them and called out friendly towards the spiky haired man. "There you are!" Elena said and walked over to the scene with Josh in her back. Her gaze fell on the new visitor beside Nathan and she gave him a welcoming smile.

Nathan on the other hand just wrapped his arm around her and stared back and forth between his wife and Chris. "Uhm… Elena this is…"

Chris went forth and extracted his hand offering the blonde haired woman to shake it. "Chris Cortina, me and Nathan here share some history."

By now, she had come to get used of this type of meetings. Right from the start, Elena could tell that this man was one of those acquaintances that she had heard so many stories of. But she didn't mind anymore and just shook the hand. "Nice to meet you! Elena Fisher-Drake."

As soon as she had mentioned that name, Cortina shook his head back immediately as he switched his gaze from Nathan to Elena and back. "You mean…" He started and then locked his eyes on Nathan again. "Wow…! And here I thought that you would end up with that chick from Ipswich." He ignored the frown that came from Elena and continued. "Or was it the one from Cape Town, no maybe the one that we met in Montreal." Chris could tell that he brought some unpleasantness into the conversation and decided to leave with a smile.

Before he walked off, he clapped Nathan on the shoulder before bringing his mouth closer to his ear. "Have fun with that!" he said and walked off.

All three of them stared after the buzz cutted man as Nathan turned around to stare at his wife with his arms stretched out to the side. "What?" Elena turned around with a playful role of her eyes before Nate followed her. "Why does everybody have to keep reminding me about Montreal?"

* * *

With all the things going on in the front and the main hall of the museum, lots of people didn't know about the things going on in the back of the huge building. Unlike the area for the visitors, the corridors and the rooms for the personal and the rest of the staff and artifacts looked dark and rather dirty. That is to say, not in the actual meaning of being dirty, but it didn't look as polished and bright as the white colored walls of the visitor's area.

Also as a difference to the busy and crowded halls in the main area, the rooms in the back were less filled with people. Shelves and regales were set all around the walls of the room. Masses and cabinets filled with artifacts stood in the middle and around small working desks. The rooms themselves were lit in a weak and warm looking light. Most of the lambs were using some old light bulbs which didn't manage to light every part of the shelves and walls made of rather grey stones.

Two figures kept walking through one of the corridors in rather slow pace. One of them was a man of about 5'8" tall with a chubby figure. He had short grey hair and a beard covering most of his face. From the looks of it, he seemed to be in the late fifties with darker skin color showing his southern European heritage.

The other one was a bit younger than the first one as he had black hair that was a bit longer and was kept in a side parting and going down to his neck. A pair of glasses set on his nose and he wore a dark grey suit. Compared to the other man, his figure was way more skinny and taller as he gave away a gawky appearance.

Both men kept walking towards a wooden door at the end of the corridor still talking to each other in Portuguese as they passed around another corner. "Cabem cem pessoas nesta sala."1 The younger one of the two said extracting his arms in a way to show to the older one what he was trying to make clear.

The older one nodded his head rubbing his hands together slowly while he was thinking to himself. He inhaled deeply before he answered the other one. "Para quem é bacalhau basta!"2 He said spreading his arms on both sides.

With that, they stopped in front of the door as the older one searched his pockets for the keys as the younger man kept talking. "Tenho e ir á casa de banho."3 The skinny man said out of the sudden with the bearded man stopping right in his tracks glaring at him with a mix of astonishment and shock.

He put one of his hands on the shoulder of his colleague before answering with an annoyed voice. "Meu nego Señor Carvalho…"4 He said and turned his attention back on the door and the keys. "Não há pressa!"5

Using a rather large keychain, the older man began turning the lock around and short after opened the door. With a loud crack, the lock opened and the duo opened the wooden door staring inside another corridor. But in that moment, both shook back at once as they stared directly at a group of about eight men standing in the door.

Most of them were of Asian heritage dressed in regular clothes containing polo shirts and jeans. Yet the man in front of the rest had a western look on him. He was over a head taller than the others with brown hair were some parts had begun turning grey. His heir cut was short yet long enough to from a side parting (think Hans Gruber from Die Hard).

He wore a dark blue suit with a white button up shirt and a black tie. "Does anybody of you speak English?" The man in front asked in a polite voice as he stood nonchalantly in the door.

One of the Portuguese nodded his head and the suited man began to smile. "Now that's nice since…" With that, he pulled out a Para 9mm with a silencer on the shaft before pointing it at them and continued. "Because this is a robbery along with a hostage-taking."

"Meu Deus!" Carvalho said as the man with the suit pointed for the duo to walk back through the corridor they came from.

* * *

Without taking notice of all that, the life along the visitors of the museum took its normal turns. Nathan and Elena kept wandering through the hallways with Josh in the back taking pictures and recording videos of various artifacts and pieces in the cabinets. Their conversation with Cortina moments was already forgotten, even though Drake still thought about the man from his past and what he was doing here. Nate could tell for sure that there was far more to this than he would admit or tell.

But for now, all what there was to duo for him and his wife was to trot through the halls with Elena tipping her microphone against her hands. Her gaze wandered off from side to side with a bit of curiosity going through them. Nathan realized that and nudged her on the shoulder with his hand. "What are you so nervous about? I thought you were done here." He added before the blonde woman glared back at him.

"Not quite! I was promised to get an interview with Mr. Costá this afternoon. He is the head of this exhibition." She replied tilting her head to the side a little bit while showing some fake annoyance by the actions of her husband. Once again, they stared over the rooms and their eyes locked on a small scene in the middle of the hall. A rather big crowd of people had gathered there with several photographers and journalists taking pictures.

Elena and Nathan stared at each other before they walked closer to see what was going they passed a group of people coming up from behind towards the ground. Elena walked around the masses of people as she watched the scene in the middle of the circle.

"Wow!" Nathan began in a sarcastic tone. "This guy must be a real celebrity if he has this whole crowd going after him like a pop star." He continued not even trying to hide the fact that the he found this all kind of ridiculous.

But yet he was yet silenced as Elena rammed her elbow into his hip making him squeeze out in pain. "That's Mr. Costá!" She said moving through the crowd and right at the man in the middle. As she came beside the man she identified as Mr. Costá."

He was a man of about 5'8" high with a beard covering most of his face and a large stomach. Beside him stood an Asian looking man with short spiky black hair (think Jet Li in the mid 90's being a bit taller). Another one standing right at his side was another Portuguese being much taller and skinnier in his figure with black hair and a side parting.

And then there was the fourth figure standing and walking at the side of the other three men. It was the tall man in the suit and the brown hair.

"Mr. Costà!" Elena called as she walked closer to the group offering him her hand. "Excuse me. Elena Fisher-Drake, we talked about a small interview earlier." She said and stopped in front of the four men who kept walking on.

She was about to start when the Asian man rushed forward and held his hand onto her mic before pulling it away. "No interviews today!" He said in a harsh voice before shoving her to the side. "Get out of the way!" He added and the group continued walking ignoring the press and the crowd staring at them confused.

The only one that stared at them with interest was Nathan who at first wanted to jump in give the Asian a few warm words. But then he spotted something else. Something that normal people would have easily missed, but he has been in that businesses far too long to not take notice of that.

Not only was Costá being forced to pass the journalists without notice, but it was done with the force of a gun. And Nathan knew that the suited man and the Asian one had to do with that.

By that time, Elena came walking back towards him holding on to her shoulder which got bumped a little bit by the Asian. "Now that wasn't really nice." She said in sarcasm and shook her arm a little bit not knowing that Nathan had his attention to something else.

He already started to bring some distance between him and his wife walking through the hall. "Not really!" At that, Elena gave him a surprised and strange expression. "You uhm… just stay here. I'm going to check this out." Nathan added walking through the hall into the far corner of the crowd.

Now realizing what was going on, Elena stared at him with wide eyes. "What are you… Nate, Nate?" But Nathan was already out of reach with her continuing to stare at him and shaking her head. "I hate it when he does that."

* * *

Having his weapon secretly pointed at Costá, the man in the suit maneuvered through the crowd with the Portuguese man in the front and the Asian in the back. At their side was the college of Mr. Costá who kept looking from side to side nervously.

They walked through a large door entering a room with the banner above the door saying in Portuguese, "The history of Portuguese sailing." Inside stood several people glancing around at the things lying out in the cabinets and not realizing the small group that had come inside to them.

Bringing his mouth closer to Costá, the man in the suit whispered into his side while pressing the gun in his pocket more into his hip. "Would you be so kind to tell them that they should leave the room at once?" He half asked and requested to the old man.

Costá exhaled deeply before he cleared his throat and spoke out to the people present. "Desculpa! Porfavor saiam do quarto!"He said with the visitors staring back at them a bit in disbelieve and confusion.

"Didn't you hear?" It suddenly busted out from the Asian who went forth and shoved one of the visitors at his side towards the door. "This area is closed, get out of here!" he continued rambling before the people present walked over to the exit leaving the room at once.

Right after that, the rest of the men (four to be exact), walked inside the room placing themselves at the side walls with their backs leaned against pillars and turned away from the entrance. With them finally, gone the suited men brought his gun out that it could be seen by everybody present. "My dear Chen, at some point we have to talk about your lack of patience, manners and you anger management problems."

The man called Chen folded his arms as he continued to stare at the western looking man while the person in the suit continued staring at Costá and Carvalho. "And with that out of the way, we come to the most important part of this conversation." He walked close to the old Portuguese before speaking out to him. "Now tell me… where is it?"

* * *

Nathan had seen the four armed men following the toll one into the room and he quickly began following trying to not be seen. The American had moved behind a corner as he watched two of the armed men staying behind on the outside of the room.

One of them observed the crowd in the main hall while trying to hold and outlook for any security guards or anything else that seemed to be fishy. The other one suddenly turned around and headed straight into his direction. Nathan stared to the back as he saw the huge green sign above a door that lead towards the toilets.

Nathan quickly bowed down pretending that he was tying his shoe laces with the armed Asian passing him quickly. Within seconds, the man had vanished into the men's room and Drake began to smirk. _Perfect!_ He thought heading straight for the door again.

It didn't take long and he had entered the bath room. The toilet booths were on the right side with the standing on the far corner. On the left side stood various sinks with a huge mirror above them going all the way to the back of the room.

Nathan could hear groans and relieved sighs coming from inside one booth which must be the armed men he was following. He could tell that there was no one else inside. _This is my chance! _ He said to himself waiting in front of the booth door to open. The sound of the flush appeared and Drake turned his hands into fists.

And then the door opened with the armed man and Nathan staring at each other for a short moment. However, Drake was the first on the draw as he kicked the man into the stomach before grabbing his head and hammering it onto the toilet seat.

With a bang, the china of the toilet broke and the man sank together to the floor being completely knocked out. Nathan didn't even hesitate and searched him for anything that he could use in this situation. And he quickly found it. It was yet another Para 9mm with a silencer that he stored inside his pocket. _Now to the next step. _He thought again and placed the other one on the seat.

With that, he locked the door behind and climbed over the booth until he was back on the ground in the bath room. The American rushed through the door stepping towards the outside. Much to his surprise, he found the other guard on the outside on the far side of the hall where he still held watch for anything that could ruin their plans.

_Now or never!_ Nathan directly said and rushed through the hall to the side of the entrance hiding behind a pillar. He took another glance to the side and found the other man still not taking notice if him which her used to sneak past and through the entrance.

On the middle of the room. Costá and Carvalho still stood their ground and not moving a single muscle. The man with the brown hair kept rubbing his gun on the side of his head and padding around back and forth in front of the two Portuguese. Nathan observed him carefully lurking behind the pillar. He could see another of the armed men leaning against the other side of it and being completely in reaching distance.

"I don't get it my dear friends. Why are you so desperate to protect it so much? It's just a bunch of papers, is it really worth for you to give your lives for?" The suited man half asked and half made a threat with this statement while extracting his arms to the side.

Costá glared deep into the eyes of Carvalho in a determined way before he reacted to the words of the other man. "Which brings us to another question. If it is just a piece of paper, why are you so eager to kill for it? Why all this effort? And who are you that you can find these papers so interesting and important?"

Without thinking twice, Chen wanted to walk forward and ram his fists into the Portuguese man. But he was stopped when the suited man held his arms in front of his chest and shoved him backwards a bit. "Oh excuse me, where are my manners. My name is Taylor Lawrence." He said with a slight and polite nod of his head before he brought his hand on front of his own chest. "And to answer your question…" he didn't even think twice before pointing his gun at Carvalho and pulling the trigger.

The air was filled with the pop of the gun being unnoticed for the outside. Costá eyes widened with shock and horror as he saw his friend falling to the ground with a hole in his forehead. "He wanted to go and catch him as he heard the gun of Lawrence clicking again and now pointing at him again. "People are way more compliant once they see their life in true danger."

That was the call for Nathan to react. While three of the guards carried the lifeless body of Carvalho into a far corner of the room. Drake grabbed the man standing on the other side of the pillar from behind, covered his mouth and knocked him out.

Back in front, Costá shivered through his whole body before he pulled out some keys and walked straight for a painting that hung on the wall. Nathan stopped seeing the man revealing a safe positioned behind the painting on the wall. Lawrence and Chen watched as well before Costá pulled dark brown colored leather wrapper out and placing it on a glass cabinet in the middle of the room.

Chen was the first to reach it shoving Costá aside right in the moment as he was joined by the other three left guards of the group. Even Lawrence was overtaken by the curiosity that lied in the room. The perfect opportunity to strike.

Meanwhile, Lawrence had shoved the Portuguese man beside and stared down on the wrapper with lustful eyes. "Finally, it's mine!" He said before hearing the cocking of a gun beside his right ear.

"I don't think so asshole!" He heard a voice calling and stared slowly to the side. Nathan held the Para he had gained towards the head of the man without taking his eyes off from him. "I'm taking that!" he said again while the others in the room shook together at how someone could have sneaked through their guards.

Even Costá was not so sure what to think about what was going on. But he quickly figured that, whoever this man was, might be the best chance for him to get out alive. But he had no time as Nathan spoke up and directed his gaze at Chen. "Hey Sushi –role! Gimme that!" He ordered towards the man who let a small grunt escape his mouth.

But as Chen and Lawrence locked eyes with each other, the Asian quickly obeyed and began bringing the book over to Nathan and Lawrence. "Take the folder and get behind me." The American said towards Costá who didn't think twice and obeyed.

With his gun still directed at Taylor's head, Nathan put a hand on the shoulder of the suited man before pulling him towards the exit. "If I were you, I would think twice about trying something funny." He warned the rest of the bunch who had their weapons directed at him as well.

"Look who's talking. I have to admit, never ever would I have expected such an interference Mr.…!?" Lawrence began being surprisingly calm as he stepped backwards with his hands held high.

But Nathan already knew what he was trying to do and pressed the gun a bit more into the neck of the man. "Call me… Roy!" He remarked showing his hostage that he was not around to joke or to make mistakes. "Let's just keep moving!" He said again with the trio being almost out of the room. Yet right in that moment, one of the guards came running from behind and fired one of his guns at Nathan. Yet he missed and only hit the stone wall beside him.

That was enough for the crowd inside the museum to realize what was going. Within seconds, the masses had changed from calm and relaxed to panicked and frightened. People ran left and right and back with the alarm going off almost at once. Lawrence used this opportunity and gave Nathan an elbow in the hip before running back to his crew. Nathan reacted quickly and shoved Costà along him behind a pillar as they took cover from the men opening fire.

In the distance, Elena and Josh heard the entire screams and even some of the silenced gunfire with the blonde woman not needing to think twice about what was going on. "Josh! Get the car; I think we're going to need a quick exit." She said and ran back into the direction of the gunfire.

_I can't believe I'm back with this crap again!_ Nathan thought in frustration as he reloaded his Para firing back on the armed men still trying to get closer to him. He gave a short glance towards Costá still holding on to that folder. Seeing one of the gangsters getting out of his cover, Nathan quickly aimed at him and fired his gun hitting the man in the leg. He broke together on the spot immediately before one of his friends shoved him back behind a counter.

Lawrence and Chen peaked over a wooden cabinet as they saw the mess they were beginning to make out of the place. The brown haired man shook his head and grabbed Chen on one arm. "We're making a scene here; this is not what I had in mind when it came to discrete and silent." He said angrily with Chen bringing his head up and firing back on Drake.

"I don't care, he interrupted our plans, and we have to get that folder back!" he answered through various gasps and shots.

But they were interrupted when they heard sirens in the back informing them that the police was on their way. "I presume that is the perfect time to get out of here." Lawrence said standing up and walking calmly out of the hall.

"What about the folder?" Chen replied as he gave a few commands to his men to fall back.

"There are other ways!"

Nathan was surprised at how quickly the group had disappeared. At first he didn't realize. But when the gunfire stopped, he slowly raised his head and stared at the now empty hallway. The only thing going on was the alarm and some distance shrieks along footsteps.

He slowly stood up and stared down on the Portuguese man beside him. "I think they're gone!" he said offering his hand towards Costá. The older man got back to his feet as well as the two observed the hall and how they had begun to demolish it. "Are you alright?" Drake then asked again before he heard someone calling his name.

"NATE!" Elena called as she came running into the hall and stopping midway seeing as most of the trouble was already gone. She smiled at Nathan who still supported the seemingly troubled Costà before remarking sarcastically. "Can't I take you anywhere without a gunfight." With that, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his necks leaning into his embrace.

But then again, their moment of piece was yet again destroyed as they heard voices coming from the hall and later on saw several police officers coming into the building. They spotted Nathan still holding the gun and raised their weapons on all three of them. "Whoa there fellas! I'm on your side!" Nathan called out panicked throwing the gun away and raising his hands just like Elena did at his side.

"Desculpe!" Costá started walking over one of the police men in front. "O meu nome é Gonzales Costá. Sou diretor este museu. Este senhor salvou-me a mim."6 He said and pointed towards the two Americans still standing around and not knowing what they were talking about.

The two kept talking for a while and after they departed, Costá walked over to Nathan giving him a thankful smile. "I am deeply in your depth Mr….!?" he asked wanting to know the name of the man in front of him.

"Drake! Nathan Drake!"

He answered and shook the hand of the old Portuguese who seemed a bit taken aback. "_The…_ Nathan Drake?" He asked which forced Nate to raise his eyebrows again. He still held the leather folder in his hands as his face turned into a gentle smile.

With all the excitement from earlier being gone, Nathan felt it was time to bring the subject back on the matter at hand. "So what is the big deal with this folder if I might ask… those dudes have been willing to go through a lot to get this thing into their hands?"

Mr. Costá put the folder back between his arms before he offered Drake to follow him through the hall with Elena joining them on the way. The three waited until there was no one that could eavesdrop on them before the Portuguese could answer. "What bothers me more is that we never told anybody that we have these. But still those people managed to find them. And whatever it is that they are after, I'm sure they will come back again."

It wasn't directly an answer to the question that Nathan asked but it gave him something. "But what is it?" He requested again folding his arms and bringing one hand to his chine.

Once again, the Portuguese man hesitated before he replied. "These are letters written by Fernão de Magalhães, signed and dated on the 31st of August 1521. And they are legit."

Right away, the jaw of Nathan Drake went open and almost dropped to the ground. He didn't know if he should believe what Costa said was true. But his experience told him that history was full of stories like this. Especially given what the treasure hunter had experienced in his own life. "Uhm… Mr. Costá! This is a kinda bold move but…" He started padding on the spot. "But since you said yourself that these are willing to come back for that, would you mind if I take a look at it?"

"Nate what are you…" Elena wanted to get as she kind felt it tasteless after a gun fight for an artifact to ask the director of a museum to keep it.

But then again, she was cut off as the Portuguese man handed the folder over to him. "If what I heard about you is true, your hands might be the best place where this could be at." Costá padded Nathan on the shoulder before walking away.

With his wife coming up at his side, the two stared at the folder of letters in their hands. "What is the meaning of this Nate?" Elena asked knowing what her husband was going to say next.

"It's just one of my feelings again!" He remarked walking together with the folder and Elena to the outside of the museum. _I don't what you have been up to Magalhães, but the last time I had to deal with some like you, it ended big._

* * *

**Author's Note and Trivia:**

And that's the first chapter of this story. I hope you like it and hopefully you will be reading again next week.

Language Translation:

1= There are hundred people fitting in the room.

2= That's barely enough for him.

3= I have to go to the bathroom

4= We don't have to hurry

5= Excuse me! Please leave this room

6= My Name is Gonzales Costá. The director of this museum. This man has saved my life.


	2. A treasure hunter retired

Well hello again!

Sorry for not updating last week. My job and my final exams really got in the way this time. Plus the joy of Bayern München winning the Champions League really made me forget many other things.

But then again, here is the second Chapter of this tory.

**Reldor:** Glad to have you back with me. The games really are great and I had a lot of fun playing through them. Writing this story feels a lot different from the other ones and I am actually hoping to make this different but still entertaining.

Thanks for reviewing and for the other to sent me PM's.

On with the story

* * *

Uncharted: Curse oft he moon

* * *

- 2 -

A treasure hunter retired

* * *

**American Airlines Flight 123, above the Atlantic Ocean **

What started out as a normal trip through Europe with a little stop for Elena Fisher-Drake to make a small story about an exhibition about Portuguese sailing, turned itself into a heated conflict with some armed gangsters in a museum. Of course the blond journalist had to thank most of that to her husband Nathan Drake, and the fact that fate always searched for the treasure hunter to run into trouble. At least that's what happened this time.

Ever since the encounter at the museum and since the director of the museum Mr. Costá decided to give an undiscovered artifact into the hands of Nathan Drake, he had used every single spare time reading and translating the letters that were involved with the folder. Nathan wasn't sure yet what this was all about, but he was determined to find out what it was that Lawrence and Chen were after.

Even the fact that the two had to fly back to the US at one point didn't stop Drake from working on the letters during the flight. It was at one night that he sat in the chair of the plain bringing them back and was still reading and translating. Elena was fast asleep like the rest of the passengers and with her head leaning against his left shoulder.

Nathan could feel her calm breathing as he held one letter under the beam of a reading light that was still on. _What is it that made you do that Magellan? And why is Lawrence so willing to kill to find this?_ He kept asking himself as he felt movement at his side with Elena beginning to stare up at him.

"Are you still working?" She half asked and half complained with a sleepy voice and breaths. The blonde woman shifted her position a little bit before she was back with her head leaning against her husband.

Nathan gave her a little smirk before he replied. "The way and the trouble these guys were willing to go through in order to find these letters, it's… it's… it just makes me wonder what Magellan tried to hide that he did what he did." He kept going on and going without realizing that Elena had already gone back to sleep.

He smiled down on her and placed a kiss on her forehead before going back to work. He was sure that Lawrence and his men were coming back to get this folder again. And then there was something that also caught the attention of his mind. _ What was it that Cortina wanted there? First him and then those goons, that can't be a coincidence._

* * *

**Denver Colorado, United States of America**

The rest of the flight went by as in sleep. The plane landed on Denver national airport without any complications and Elena and Nathan were glad they finally could stretch their leg properly. Of course, Nathan had a few problems to get the folder and the documents through the safety controls without getting asked out by the guards.

Both passed the controls and stepped out of the security area into the hall of the airport. The building looked very modern with white and glassy walls. Huge video walls showed the numbers and the flights that were going to start and land on this airport. The floor was made out of white and grey marmour with a blue carpet leading out of the gat and into the waiting area for the flights.

Many people had gathered to welcome the other passenger of the plane. To his left, Nathan could see some small children running up to their father and hugging him tightly. And that was when he saw the man he was hoping to see.

He came walking up to the couple with grey hair, a mustache and a cigar in his mouth, even though there was no smoking allowed in the airport. He wore a red colored shirt with slightly visible palm trees on the ground. He had a dark cream colored pair of pants and black shoes that went along with his outfit. Nathan's face lit up and he raised his hand to greet the man. "How ya doing Sully!"

Victor Sullivan was kinda like the father that Nathan never had. When his mother committed suicide when he was five years old, his father couldn't take it anymore and handed Nathan over to the St. Francis home for the children. It was in that time that Nathan took over the name of Sir Francis Drake.

With 15, Nathan landed on the streets of Cartagena in Columbia. It was there that he met Sullivan who saved him from a secret organization in which he gained the ring that Sir Francis Drake wore all his life. It was the beginning of a great friendship that lasted for many years.

The two men greeted each other with a hug before the older one of the two answered. "Heard you still can't visit a museum just like normal people." He remarked and Elena went into a sarcastic laughter along with their friend.

"You can say that again, the air was even more lead contained than LA during rush hour." Nathan replied going in on the joke.

Sullivan clapped him on the shoulder before he turned towards Elena. "Hey girl! How was the flight?" he asked as the two embraced each other as well.

They departed and Elena began to smirk. "It was … relaxing. At least for some of us." Right away, Nathan stared at the side and chuckle while throwing a sly smirk at his wife and took her bag. Together, the three walked through the main hall towards the exit of the airport.

Outside, it was still night and the air was refreshingly warm. The trio stepped to the outside and headed straight for a small parking lot that lied directly in front of the main exit with Sully leading the way. The old man stepped directly towards a red colored Toyota 4-Runner which Sullivan opened from the distance with his keys.

Nathan was a bit surprised to see his friend picking them up with this vehicle. "What happened to your old Buick?" he asked right away as he kept walking towards the trunk.

"Argh! The goddamn thing died on me just a week ago. Can you believe it… after twenty years… it died on me." He answered with tune of frustration in his voice. "After all we've been through together, it just leaves me behind." He continued as he came to a halt at the side. "And since I needed a new one, I decided to buy something with a bit more family friendly touch."

There was a slight tone of slyness that Nathan kinda disliked. People passing by would have had no trouble seeing the brown haired man blush a little. But Sully didn't go further and slip opened the door. "You in?" He asked towards Nate still holding the two bags in his hands and staring at the car.

With a sigh and raised eyebrows, he maneuvered the bags into the trunk and walked towards the front seat sitting down immediately.

* * *

The drive back towards the home of Elena and Nathan didn't take all that long since their home was located in the city of Aurora Colorado. The city had been often named as a suburb of Denver. Yet over the course of years, it had developed into more than just that with now more of the half of citizens than Denver had.

Their house laid in the outskirts of Aurora in one of those areas you see on shows like desperate housewives or other shows of that caliber. To anybody else, the outside of their home looked nothing like the home of a famous journalists and a well-known treasure hunter.

The street was wide with houses of various styles standing on each side of the road. Green grassy fields lied between the buildings and the sidewalk. Sully pulled the car in front of it and parked directly on the side of the road. The building in the middle of the facility was colored in dark brown with the window frames being of a brighter brown color. A stony path led away from the house towards the street and a small stair leading towards the main door and the roofed porch going all around the left corner.

On the right side which seemed to be the living room stood a grey stony and wide chimney going on to the top. The houses roof was colored in dark grey.

Elena led the way towards them as she searched for her keys while Nathan carried the bags he had put out of the car. Mrs. Fisher-Drake opened the door to their home and let Nathan walk inside first.

From the inside, the home of the two looked more like the home of a journalist and a treasure hunter. Various masks, relics and artifacts hung on the wall and lied on the boards. The furniture itself looked really well with its oak fabricate and the rather modern touch in contrast with the old artifacts hanging around the place.

Nathan placed the bags just beside the stairs as he glanced to the front where he could see the kitchen. To his left was a room that could have easily been called an office or a library with the living room being to his right and being by far the biggest room of the house.

The treasure hunter didn't waste any second and walked right into the kitchen as he took his backpack and brought out the folder with the letters again. Short after, Elena was inside as well as she saw him towering over the papers before she moved towards the fridge. "Can I get you anything Sully?" She asked right away before the older man walked into the room too.

"Aw, not that much! Just a cup of coffee please." Sully took a seat right beside Nathan and stared at the manuscript. "So… this is what all the fuzz is about?" He half asked and half made clear while Nathan took a sip from his cup himself.

"Yeah! I'm still working on the translation though." Nathan replied not taking his eyes off from the manuscripts. "Have you contacted Cutter and Chloe?" He then asked finally taking his eyes off.

Sully nodded his head again and received a cup of coffee from Elena. "I talked to them, and they're on their way. But It can take two or three days before they can get here."

Nathan didn't react to that and simply continued on reading. "Do you honestly think that this is one of those times again?" The grey haired man asked putting both of his elbows on the table and bringing his face closer to the one of the dark brown haired man.

Again, Nathan pulled his eyes off and faced is longtime friend. "I don't know why they decided to take that much risk in order to get this thing but... I get a feeling that we are in for something really big again."

* * *

Since there were plenty of days to spend since Cutter and Chloe were arriving in Colorado, Nathan used most of that time to continue on reading and figuring out what the letters were about. Whenever he could afford the time, he was in his library and studied through his large amount of books about history that he gathered through the years.

During the time, Elena barely caught a glimpse of her husband as he barely abandoned his studies. It was even so extreme that she had to force him to eat something or even bath. And so was it on this very evening as Nathan once again walked around through his library. Maps and books lied spread around the place and a giant table being completely covered with letters, papers and even more books.

He didn't even realized that she had opened the door and now stood in the door frame with her arms folded. "Don't you think that this is a bit much effort you put into this?" She asked in a gentle voice as she kept staring at her husband moving through the room noticing something here and there while he began hanging up a map at the wall. "After all… you said that you were going to stop doing this years ago.

"I know but… there is something within this that I don't get. Something that I haven't addressed in my life before. I have to find out what those guys were after." He replied without locking his eyes on her.

However, Elena smiled to herself and moved away from the room as the doorbell rang. Nathan as well as Elena shook up and stared at each other before Nate hushed towards the window and glared to the outside. "It's alright! It's Sully!" Nathan said and his wife moved towards the door opening it.

On the outside stood three persons. The first one was Victor Sullivan which Drake already stated out to be. The second one was a woman with raven black hair and a sharp face, she was wearing a blue colored tank top with blue jeans. She was about the same height as Elena and smiled over at the blonde woman. "Hey Elena!" She called out with an Australian accent which was rather friendly yet strangely distant.

"Chloe!" Elena called back on her and the two embraced.

Chloe Frazer was one of Nate's old flames and one of his fellow treasure hunters. The two met during their hunt for the Chintamani stone and since then, their relationship had turned out for the better. They departed and then turned her attention on the third man who was standing in the door. He was a man about the same size as Nathan, he had less to no hair and a bulky face. When someone wouldn't know him, they would think that he was just a thug, but this man was Charlie Cutter, a well known friend of the group.

"Hey beautiful!"Charlie said in a British accent giving Elena a friendly kiss on the cheek. "How ya doin'?" He asked trying to be polite. Which was answered by a polite laughter from Elena. It was right then that they heard rumbling in the library and the group moved to see Nathan somehow having the room cleaned up from scrap. "Now that looks familiar." Charlie remarked which was followed by a nudge from Chloe's elbow. "Ouch."

"Charlie, Chloe! Glad to see you!" Nathan greeted the two who waved at him and greeted back.

Both newcomers wasted no time and sat down on the huge table that stood in the middle of the room. "Well mate…" Charlie started and folded his arms before resting his feet on the table. "I heard that you had some fire heavy encounters in Lisbon recently. Seems like even if you try… you always turn out to be a magnet for trouble." He said his words with a sly smirk and a chuckle.

Nathan for his part didn't really respond but immediately grabbed Cutter's feet and pulled them off from the tree. At the side, Chloe rested her elbows on the table, her legs resting on top of each other. "Thank god you got out of there alive." She said with honest concern for her friend.

Before Nathan could respond, Charlie got back in. "Okay! SO what is so important that we had to come here like this?" He asked right away and tried to cut right to the chase.

For a short moment, Drake just wandered around with his hands put together in front of him. "Uhm this here…" he said and put the folder with the letters on the table in front of Charlie. "These are letters from Ferdinand Magellan." He revealed and waited for the reactions that were about to come from his friends.

Charlie stared down on the papers in his hands before he responded with his arms extracted to the side. "What… that's it?" Not quite the response that Nathan expected. "Some bunch of bloody letters from a dead guy?" He started and leaned his head back.

"Ferdinand Magellan! Wasn't he the first guy that sailed around the world?" Chloe asked as she turned the chair around and leaned forward against the back of it.

"Not quite right, his expedition was the first one to sail around the world. Magellan himself was killed during that travel on Mactan." Nathan said before turning to Charlie again. "That's on the Philippines by the way!" he added avoiding a swing coming from Charlie's hand. "His crew; his second man… A man named Juan Sebastián Elcano finished the journey for him."

Charlie and Chloe listened carefully as Sully brought some cups of coffee into the room along with a glass of whiskey and a cigar for himself. "So then again, you're making all this noise about some letters from a dead guy?"

Hearing what his old friend was about to say, Nathan handed one of the letters over to sully who took a drag on his cigar. "This is a letter from Magellan to Vasco da Gama. Just look at the date!" He said which Sully did right away.

"August 31th, 1521!" Sully read and handed the letter back over.

"Magellan died on April 27th 1521!" Nathan quickly remarked out loud and Chloe along Sully from the start understood. Drake then once again began to read. "My dear friend! I hereby send thee this letter to inform you that the circumstances of my early leavings had been nun and void. Instead, I discovered something that I couldn't even imagine in my deepest dreams." Nate continued with the other now completely tensed. "I hope that the wonders that I have come across here will be just as graceful to you as they have been for me." He stopped and waited for the words to sink in.

For a short moment, none of them spoke a word before Chloe began. "So… if this letter is legit and Magellan didn't die on Mactán… then why?" She asked and hit the most important part right from the start. "Why to pretend that he died?"

"Exactly!" Nathan said right away with his arms folded and pointing his finger at the Australian woman. "Okay so, Vasco da Gama is the key to everything." He then continued standing tall and now pointed at the huge map that he had hung into the room. "History says that there hasn't been a single journal that documents the journey which Magellan had taken. That is to say, that there are none that we know of."

Sully and Charlie already knew what he was getting at. "So you think that those documents were lost since Magellan didn't want anybody to find what he discovered." The man with the mustache threw in taking a sip from his glass.

Drake sat down and leaned back into his chair with a simple smile on his face. "The only one that must have known about these was da Gama!" He said holding up his hand and staring at the map above him. "Once we find the journals, we know where to go next!"

That was when Chloe came back into the conversation. "What are we even searching for? And how do we know that da Gama even has the journals. Maybe Magellan just sent them away and they got lost on the way." She remarked while Charlie nodded his head in agreement.

But Nathan was already on one of his rushes and pulled out yet another piece of paper from the folder. "For what we are searching for, I have no idea. But to answer your question about the journals, I know that he has them because he actually answered."

He continued to read. "My dear friend. After an eternity, I have finally been able to move to the eastern kingdom and the Moluccas world. Your instructions have proven themselves already really useful. I hope to reach you as soon as possible."

"Okay so here's the deal! In April 1521, da Gama set sails for Asia and became the new governor of India. But only three months after his arrival, he died due to malaria. I have another in one there in which da Gama writes Magellan that the two will possibly never meet since he feels really sick. So ergo, da Gama could never make his journey and the journals are at the place where he hit them the last time before his death."

Charlie took a look around and brought the edges of his muzzle upwards. "Wow mate, you really have been busy haven't you?!" he made clear with Nathan shrugging his shoulders only shortly.

"But where do you want to look kid? Last time I checked, India isn't that kind of a small country." Sully said out of the sudden and let his cigar move back and forth between his fingers.

Yet once again, Nathan already had an answer to that. "Simple… here!" He replied and pressed a dart into the huge map behind him. The dart landed directly on the part marking South West India. "Cochin! The place where da Gama died. I bet that if we find his grave and the old administration building, we can find the old documents."

For the whole time, Elena had kept in the back with her arms folded and leaning against the door. But in that moment, she went forth and walked into the middle of the room. "Nate, do you really think that this is such a good idea?" She asked not really asking but making clear what she was getting at. "Remember the last time we have come across such a situation? With all the trouble we have gone through, don't you think it might be the best to let this one pass?"

Right away, Nathan raised his head and stared at his wife with Charlie and Chloe following his lead. "Come on Elena! What could possibly go wrong?"

"Yeah! Beside me braking my legs again!" Charlie replied with a slick expression.

"And you two almost burn to death within a chateau in France?" Chloe got in pointing at Sully and Nate.

"Or getting shot in the middle of a train crash in the Himalaya?" Sully said which caused Nathan and Chloe to shake together.

"Getting arrested and thrown into a Turkish prison!" Nate answered facing the Australian woman with the corner of his eye.

"Crashing a plane once again!" Sully referenced the fact that Nathan survived two of those.

"Wandering through sand and snow in the middle of nowhere!" Charlie then once again came back.

"And having to face Zombies, Sasquatch, cursed Spaniards and Guardian thingy's!" All four of them stopped the scene with all of them staring around the room.

After a whole minute of silence, Sully had enough. "You know what Kid! She has a point… just leave it to be."

That was something that Nathan didn't expect, at first he thought Sully was making a joke. But then he saw the seriousness in the tone of his long-time friend and he brought his eyebrows up. "Jeez Sully! You're really serious!? Come on, you never said anything like this before."

"Kid! Remember what I told you at the airport in Yemen?" He asked knowing that Nathan was well aware of what he meant. "For once I am on the other side here. Just let it go this once. You have nothing to prove anymore. And there are other things that you have to worry about then going after mystic things again."

Nathan slowly pressed his hands into his hips before he faced Sully and Elena again. "I know that I promised you to give this up as soon as possible. But this time, it's really for a good cause. Whoever these guys were, they are nothing else but trouble. I have the feeling that I have to find whatever Magellan was hiding before they find it first."

Elena kept observing her husband carefully, she could tell that he was honest about it and he really meant what he was saying. It was true that this disagreement about Nathan's adventures had brought their relationship to an end before. And she didn't want to have it end again.

Yet before she could answer to that, Sully beat her to it. "Okay Nate! If you want it that badly, I won't stand in your way. But when it comes to me, I am way too old for this. You have to do this without me." The white and grey haired man said with Nathan simply acknowledging and nodding in agreement.

Drake then turned around to face Chloe and Cutter. "What about you two?"

They both stared at each other with Charlie shrugging his shoulders and waving his arms around. "Oh what the bloody hell, I'm in. But uhm… leave me out of that India thing. I uhm… still got some things that keep me from entering the country."

Chloe raised her eyebrows upon hearing this. Yet she shook it off and faced Nathan again. "You can count on me." She added taking a sip from a cup on the table.

And finally, Nate and Elena stared into each other's eyes with the blonde woman walking over to the man and stopping just inches away from each other. "I sure hope you know what you are doing." She asked wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You know me… I don't have the faintest idea." He replied and the two embraced each other warm and gentle.

* * *

The group waited for another two days until they would begin their departure. During those days, Nathan along with Chloe and Cutter kept themselves busy with planning their trip to India. Though Charlie was not going with them on that trip, he was making sure that they would get their passports and their papers made for their travel. All the time, Nathan tried to be as gentle as possible towards Elena since she herself was about to go on a journey into the Middle East.

"Okay so… this is what I still don't get." Charlie went in one day as the trio sat together at the table in Nathan's library. "You said that Magellan faked his death on Mactan. Which is on the Philippines by the way. Then why the bloody hell do we have to travel to India anyway?"

Chloe folded a map together before eyeing the Englishman again. "Because we need the manuscripts first, we have no idea what we are even looking for once we get there." She answered being a little bit annoyed since she felt she had given this answer over and over before.

"So here's the deal, Chloe and I will go to Cochin and search for da Gama's and Magellan's journals. You on the other hand will go to the Philippines and scope everything out. If anything goes wrong, contact Sully or us." Nathan added as he finished writing into his journal before handing some headsets to his friends.

Right on that moment, Elena came walking through the door and sat down on the table as well. "So…" She started resting her arms on the top and smiling over to the three. "You guys ready?" She asked afterwards switching back and four with her eyes.

Nathan leaned back in his chair and simply smiled at her. "Ready as we have ever been. What about you?" He replied with a question himself. "You ready as well?"

He wrapped one arm around the blonde woman who closed her eyes for a short moment ans waved her head from side to side. "I guess!" She replied exhaling a little bit. "It's not the first war zone that I have to travel to. Though I think that Afghanistan is a bit more heated than Tibet." She added with a slight laughter before the clearing sound of another voice reached their ears.

They all turned around to find Sully standing in the door. "Alright guys… time to go!"

Within minutes, the group had climbed into Sully's car with Charlie sitting in the front and Nathan along Chloe and Elena in the back. Together the trio travelled back towards Denver Airport with Sully pulling the car back onto the small parking lot in front.

The group entered the main hall and stopped in the middle of it. "Alright then Charlie!" Nathan began as he faced the short haird man who searched his pockets for his ticket and passport. "You know what to do. See you on Mactan!" He finally said and the two clapped each other on the shoulder.

After that, Charlie gave his farewells to Chloe, Sully and Elena before reacting to Nathan's statement. "Good luck Mate! And stay out of trouble!" He said before turning around. "oh and one thing…" Nathan looked up from his ticket as he heard Charlie calling out to him. "For once try not to break _everything _you touch." He added with a sly smirk.

"Ha-ha!" Nate answered dryly and in a mocking way before Charlie waved at him and vanished behind a group of people.

Now it was time for Sully to call out for the others. "Alright people, time for me to go as well." He nudged Nathan on the chest. "We stay in contact Kid." He said before turning onto Elena. "Keep it up girl!" He then added and pulled her into a tight hug. She answered with a 'good bye Sully' and Victor finally turned his attention to Chloe.

In the meantime, Nathan and Elena had gone back to stare at each other with Nathan holding her hand and bringing it up to his mouth. "Please be careful!" He said with all honesty and kissed her on her hand.

"Look who's talking!" She returned the gesture with a kiss on the cheek before Drake pulled her to him for another long and passionate long kiss. Short after, the four separated with Nathan and Elena staring at each other as long as they could.

Chloe and Nathan stepped through a gate where they could see the plane that was carrying them over to India and yet another treasure hunt.

* * *

**Author's note:** I have to admit that I only know the United States from TV and have never been there, as it will be with India. The information I took on the real life place, I gained from Wikipedia and Google. Please be gentle if some details on the places are not that 100% correct.

As for me, I see you next week when we get on with out journey.


	3. A journey unfinished

Hello again!

Welcome to the third part of my story.

**Marinawings: **Thanks for the comment! I'm glad that you like how I tried to portray the characters. It is very important to keep the characters on par with their originals (Although one can always do some alterations if it fits his tone of the story) I'll try my best to keep this going and even improve.

The rest, I'm going to mention after the chapter.

* * *

**- 3 -**

A journey not finished

* * *

**Cochin, South West India**

After another flight that lasted for hours, Nathan and Chloe stepped out of the plane that landed in the Indian town named Kochi, or Cochin, on the Western Coats of India at the Arabian sea. During the 14th century, the city had played an important part in the trading of spices and goods all over the Arabian Sea and the western routs. After being occupied by the Portuguese government, Kochi was the first European colony in India. Today, the city lives mostly on IT and construction economy. Even though tourism plays a part in it as well.

The two treasure hunters stared upwards into the cloudless sky with the sun standing high above them. The climate in which the city was set was of high humidity and felt really tropical. Even though Chloe and Nathan had been in the city for just a few moments, he could already feel sweat developing on his forehead. Maybe it had to do with Nathan once again wearing a sweater with its arms folded up to the elbows.

The city itself looked just like someone would expect from a city in this area. The wind coming from the sea waived sand all over and through the streets and gathered it together on the edges of the roads. Other than that, the streets looked rather modern in this area with hotels and apartment houses spread all over the town. In the background, the town was surrounded by huge mountains emerging like giant walls from the group. All in all, they built a big contrast towards the wide of the Arabian Sea.

Nathan grabbed both his and Chloe's bags while the black-haired Australian woman called out for a cab. Immediately after one of those yellow cars had stopped in front of them, they went in and drove off towards their hotel. On both the left and right side of the streets stood various trees being planted to give the city a modern and nice look.

The brown spiky haired man still wrote notes into his journal which didn't go unnoticed by Chloe. "So…" She stared staring out of the window and not facing Drake. "Do you already have a plan on how to proceed with your plan?" She asked and Nathan put the journal away.

"For now, I think we better get into our hotel and eat something. And then we can go looking for da Gama's grave." He answered letting his head rest against the window of the car.

Chloe went back to stare to the outside and observe the city they found themselves in. "What do you think it is that those guys are after?"She continued to make a conversation seeing how there was still so much vague about this mystery.

Yet Nathan didn't really have an answer for that. "I'm not sure. Either it's a big treasure. Or second, it's one of those things that we should have never gotten our hands on to." He said in a really stern a subtle tone.

"What does your gut tell you?"

Again, Nathan didn't know and stared to the outside while also reflecting on his past adventures. "Second!"

* * *

Using the map that Nathan had brought along, the duo drove through the city until they reached the place that they had been looking for. From far away, there wasn't that much to the building than people would think.

The St. Francis Church lied in the district called Fort Kochi that laid in the south-west of the area. The church itself was built in the year 1503. It was the first and therefore the oldest European church in India. And that showed with the once white colored outside of the church going more and more black and dark green. Around the facility stood a black colored steel fence that was held together by several white stone posts. In front of the main building stood a huge stone post with about 2 meters height with several symbols written into it.

Nathan and Chloe observed the building from the other side of the street with the Australian woman being a bit unsure. "Do you really think that he hid the documents in here?"

Folding the map together and storing it in his pocket, Drake glanced to the side and at his college. "In one of his letters, da Gama said that there is far too much to this story for it to be brought to the outside world. He wanted to take it with him into his grave if he was not able to reach Magellan in time."

He continued to talk until the two had reached the other side and stood now in front of the fence. "There may have removed his body years after he died here, but I'm sure that da Gama hid something in here anyway."

They stepped through the iron door and into the field in front of the building. From up close, the church looked much bigger than one would think with the road and the trees standing on both sides of the building. The sun in the distance had already begun to sink and hilled the city in a warm and beautiful golden light. Only a few tourists walked around the place as the duo opened the main door and walked inside before string around immediately.

The inside of the building looked astonishing. The stone walls of the building were decorated and painted with several samples of wood which gave the impression that the church still was made out of it. The walls and the ceiling were painted and decorated in various colors with pillars standing on each side of the room decorated with yellow stones. Numerous benches stood in the middle pointing at the altar in the front.

"Wow!" Nathan said as he stepped into the middle of the room and stared around. His gaze immediately fell on a small wooden door that lied to the right side. "In there!" he said with Chloe following short by.

They stepped into a wide and surprisingly empty room. A small caret was placed on the ground in the middle of the room and surrounded with steel posts that were held together with a red band. "This is the grave of da Gama. At least the place where he was buried." Nathan remarked walking around the small square.

He kneeled down and stared at the edged. And felt it before trying to bring his hands between the square and the other part of the room. "We can't move that!" he mentioned before looking around. "You see this!" He pointed towards small little scratches that lied on the ground and were placed all over the edges of the square. "These things don't look like normal scratches. They are way too organized!"

Nathan let his hands run over them before pulling out his journal. He began scrapping them into it before speaking out loud. "These marks are definitely not scratches. They are ancient letters and symbols. I don't know the language and how to translate it." He added putting his journal back into his back pocket.

Chloe stared around the room and then back on the man beside her. "Great! Then how are we supposed to know what is written there?" She called with Nathan not paying the much attention to him.

His face and turned to the side towards a painting on the wall. "What the…" he started walking off to the side with Chloe staring at him and calling out his name.

"I hate it when you do that!" She replied before coming to a halt right behind him. "What is it?"

"That picture!" He stumbled pointing to it. It was a drawing that showed a white bearded man kneeling right beside a fountain in the middle of an Asian city. "That's Magellan! Look at the date." He continued pointing to the lower right corner of the painting. "13th October 1521!" He said with a bit of joy in his voice.

"So we're on the right path!?" Chloe half asked and half made clear before she continued to talk. "But then again, how are we supposed to find out what was written on the grave back there?"

Drake felt the picture shortly before he took it and made it lose from the wall. He didn't listen to the protest that came from Chloe who told about this being wrong. With a short motion, he turned it around and pulled out a knife. Quickly he cut into the back of the frame.

"I can't believe you're doing this!" Chloe said face palming and searched for anyone watching.

But Nate didn't care. He simply reached with his hand to the inside and found the picture to be hollow. Except for the little piece of paper that he found inside. "Aha!" He called and pulled it out. Quickly, he unfolded it and began to read. "For thee that thee have travelled and found this. This is from da Gama!"

Once again, he read out loud what was written down there. "Those who tried to protect their most sacred things were lost were lost and their history stayed undiscovered. But for thee, thee can read about them in the novels of their stories and history. The story of the Tangnamgrah."

Chloe stopped right away and stared at her partner. "Tangnamgrah?!"

For a short moment, Nathan didn't know what to say and simply stared at the letter. "I don't know right what this means but…"

Nathan turned around once again walking straight for the exit. "… but I think I know where to go." He said walking right through the door and into the main room. Chloe had a hard time catching up with him as Dark stepped right through the main entrance back into the still hot afternoon.

Again, they stepped through the gate and Nathan observed the scenery in front of him. He was about to call for a cab as his heart made a jump and his heartbeat stopped or a short moment. "How in the world…?"

Just across the street stood Taylor Lawrence, dressed in a black suit with a red and a black striped tie and white button up shirt. By now, the man had not seen them as he stepped to the side of a black limousine. Quickly and without wasting a second, Nathan pulled Chloe behind a tree as the Australian woman shrieked out shortly.

"Nate! What are you…?" But Nathan already signed her to keep quiet as he pointed towards the men that stepped together along Lawrence and the Asian man called Chen.

"Those are the guys that were at the museum in Lisbon." He said quietly and looked around for an exit route. "We gotta get out of here before these guys know they're on the right track as well."

Quickly and keeping themselves in the shadows. Nathan and Chloe walked through the tree line as they came up to another road going parallel to the one earlier.

Nathan stared to the back and gave away a breath of relief before turning to Chloe who stared at him with a questioning look. "So… where to now?" She asked looking around for a cab or something.

Nathan brought out his map and studied it quickly before answering. "The lingual museum of Asia!"

* * *

The linguistic museum of Asia was one of the unknown museums in India. Yet it held records to nearly every lost and found language that had been spoken on the continent. It was an old building styled in the renaissance style showing its partly European heritage.

Most of the stones that built the walls were of grey rock with the roof being made in orange/brown stones. From below, it was shined on with several light bulbs. The streets beside were small and narrow with other buildings almost reaching over to the museum.

On top of one roof on the other side of the street stood two figures completely covered in black. Nathan checked his watch before glaring over the roof onto the other side. "Okay, so the security system doesn't seem to be all that tense. It should be easy to crack." He said pulling out his spyglass and observed the ground below.

Chloe quickly grabbed a crossbow before shooting a line straight from one side to the other. "Okay, clear!" She called after testing the line and hooking in. Short after, she inhaled hanging in the rope over the street to the museum and landed on top of the roof.

Nathan followed short by kneeling down and running in a crouched position across the roof. "We can get in from there!" He heard Chloe call as she let a rope down from the roof onto the balcony on the second floor. She was the first one to go down slowly followed by Drake.

The brown-haired man felt around the window which they had landed in front of and tested for any alarm signs. Yet he didn't find anything. "Surprisingly not guarded or secured." He said pulling out a knife and cracking the window open. Nathan used his flashlight to look inside before he crawled through the window now standing on a balcony at the inside of the building.

"Alright Nate, what are we looking for exactly?" Chloe asked quietly before the two walked down a few stairs until they stood in the middle of the dark room which must have served as the library.

"Just keep looking for any books out of the renaissance section. That strange language that we found on the side of da Gama's grave must be a clue."

With their flashlights signing at the book shelves, Chloe continued to think about what he said. "I thought we were looking for the documents. And that they must have been buried together with da Gama." She said taking a ladder from the side and climbing upwards. "By the way… how did you know about that letter hiding inside the picture anyway?"

Nathan stood on the ground below and thought about it as well. "Just a lucky guess… I guess." He said waiving his flashlight up and down.

And that was when he suddenly stopped and stared at one of the books. "Chloe!" He whisper yelled which the Australian woman replied by coming down to him. "I think this is it." He added and pulled out a book from the shelf. "Here!" He said and dropped it onto the table. "The Tangnamgrah was a Thai/Philippine minority that was spread all over the continent. People believed that their civilization had been extinguished and their language had vanished."

He went through the pages until he stopped. "And there we have our guide on how to translate the signs that we saw on the floor of the church."

Right at once, the American treasure hunter began to work on the pages and how to translate the signs. While that was going on, Chloe kept roaming around looking out for any signs of security guards. After about ten minutes, which seemed like record for both of them, Nathan began reading out.

"For clever soul that you have learned the language of the chosen ones… be reminded that the secret to our secrets lies in the hall beneath the Meru and Asura Rahu!" He finished and looked at Chloe who glanced back.

"Why do these guys always have to speak in riddles?"

Nathan pondered for a while before he heard Chloe gasp. "Nate! The hall of language. We are in the language museum, so their secret must be here."

"Underneath Meru and Asura Rahu. Meru and Rahu are figures of the old Thai mythology. Rahu is a demon and Meru is the mountain in the middle of the world."

Right away, they both came to the same conclusion. "Maybe there's a picture of them and the secret lies below." They called out at the same time before Chloe went into her typical cynical style. "If they didn't go for a redecoration."

With wide open eyes, and their flashlights going everywhere around the museum. Nathan and Chloe kept rushing through the hallways and rooms. He stared from one side to the other hectically searching for something that showed mount Meru and Rahu.

The corridors where set in a dark wood exactly colored as the floor. With every second that passed by without a result, Nathan became more and more nervous. Up to this point, he hadn't seen a single security guard yet. But he was sure that they were here somewhere.

"Here!" He suddenly heard Chloe yell out silently and rushed over to her. "Could it be that?" She asked and Drake pointed his flashlight into the exact same spot that she did.

Up ahead on the wall hung a picture that looked like it was poured in iron. It showed the silhouettes of an ancient Asian demon or god. (Think that statue Drake sees when he finds the dead Nazis). It also showed the creature towering over a mountain and holding his hands up.

Nathan stared at it before his face lit up. "That's got to be it! See, this could be Rahu… and the mountain that we see is mount Meru." He let his eyes wonder over the picture again as he tried to think about other stuff that could be seen.

"I think that thing which he is reaching at is supposed to be the moon." Nate continued to stare. "You find it below Meru and Rahu!" He finally said in a slow voice and turned around. "There must be a secret passage way through here." He added and Chloe as well as he immediately began searching.

Nathan felt over the wall with his hand while Chloe searched the books on the shelves. For another minute, none of the two found anything before Nathan stopped and stared once again onto the picture. "I think I found it. Chloe come here!" He remarked standing up against the wall and signaling to the woman to give her a boost.

Chloe right away jumped onto his hands and started upwards. "Look behind the picture, there must be some sort of a switch." Nathan suggested and Chloes did so. She brought her arm behind it and right away found what Nathan kept looking for.

With a loud click, the wall behind the duo moved which caught them by surprise. Nathan stumbled and almost dropped Chloe to the ground, yet she caught herself and landed on her feet. "That was close!" She remarked before glaring to the back of Nathan. Where moments ago had been a wall, now stood a little opening barely enough for a man to slip right through.

"Now that's new!" Nathan said in sarcasm before pointing his flashlight into the dark. The corridor which they opened had stony walls and was completely dark without lights. They could see torches hanging on the sides which Nathan directly pulled off from the wall. He searched his pockets for a match but couldn't find any.

With a groan, he turned towards Chloe before saying. "Uhm well… do you…?"

Without waiting, she pulled out a lighter and held it against the torch which caught fir immediately. "Thankfully, I learned a thing or two from Sully." Chloe immediately remarked before the duo began walking down the corridor.

The steps were small and slippery. Nut they managed to get down them rather easily. Nathan waived the torch around and they now found themselves in a small room with numerous script rolls lying in shelves all around the walls. In the middle stood an old wooden stock which had a book lying on top of it.

"Whoa!" Chloe called as she watched the room lighting up in front of her.

But Nathan had his focus already set on the book in front of him with him beginning to read. "[…] as the night passes, my crew and I settled down to rest. We watched with heavy hearts as our men set sail for the sea and leaving us behind since they thought we had settled ourselves with god. Only Juán knows about this, and I am willing not to let anyone else get knowledge of my discovery. The inhabits tell themselves the story of the Amrita and the city of Thimongrung. I'm not sure about what to think of that. But ever since I witnessed the wonders on the island, I know that the legend might be true."

As he stopped, Chloe stepped beside him and held the torch upwards. "The amrita… the city Thimongrung! What is all that supposed to mean?"

Nathan for his part didn't know as well and kept going through the pages. "[…] One would think that insanity would have taken over the best of me. But it would be foolish to disbelieve. I will make sure that the location of Thimongrung will be only known for the ones that were able to earn my trust. A trust that only Lapu-Lapu was able to provide and hide." Nathan stopped as he turned another page and came across a map.

"A trust only Lapu-Lapu could provide!? Lapu-Lapu was the guy that supposedly killed him." Chloe went in and Nate began ripping the map out of the book.

"Yep, he probably was in on it and the two worked this out together." He said turning around to face the Australian woman. "And with this being a map of Mactan…" He said holding the piece of paper in front of her. "And the fact that all these things seem to hang together. I bet that this Thimongrung that he kept talking about is located there as well."

He folded the map together before bringing out his journal and putting both together back into his pocket. With a short motion, the duo walked back up into the corridor and closed the secret entrance behind them. The way out of the museum was just as easy as the way in.

Neither Nathan nor Chloe did expect to have this little resistance coming against them. Together, they climbed down from the roof across the street on the ground. "Okay so, we have to contact Cutter that…" He stopped when he heard someone clearing his voice and stepping out of the shadow.

"Now that's the Nathan Drake that I have come to know."

Nathan stopped dead in his tracks as he glared at Chloe who looked over his shoulder. "Chloe take the journal, we see each other at the hotel." He said trying his best to hand the book over to her before the man in the back could realize.

He turned and just as suspected found Chris Cortina standing in front of him. "How did you know I was here?" he asked completely out of composure while Chloe vanished around a corner.

"Ever since Lisbon, I knew that the two of us would meet again. And once I came around that you have travelled to Cochin, I felt that it was time that we catch up on some old times." The buzz cutted man walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you think about taking a drink?" He asked grinning at the American.

* * *

Just in an old city district, in the middle of a narrow and sandy, well… you couldn't call it anyway. It was more like a favela type road. There stood a bar. From the outside, the building showed a rather old look with the tables being made of old wood and rather small in size. The windows were milky and with dust hanging all over it. The floor cracked with every step one took over them.

Most of the people inside her bar were Indian with only a few Thais and Asians. The only western looking people sat in a corner of the bar together on a table with the pale light only shining on the center of the table and leaving the two partly in shadows.

"You know, I was kinda expecting to not be welcomed with open arms but… your behavior even sub passes my expectations." Chris Cortina said as he took a sip from a glass of Indian rum and leaning back in his chair.

On the opposite of him still sat Nathan who was glad that he managed to find a beer in the middle of this city but yet didn't drink once on it. "Why should I be excited? You walk up on me in the middle of the night only weeks after we met for the first time in years."

Cortina kept leaning back with his left foot resting on his upper calve. "I got to admit, I didn't think of it happening myself. But then again, the last time we met each other we only talked for a short time. I didn't even get the chance of meeting your wife." He added with a sly expression which Nate didn't like at all.

"You were the one walking away as fast as possible." He added quickly finally taking a sip from his beer.

For a short moment, neither one of the two said anything before Chris spoke out again. "You remember the first job we did together?" He asked with a slight laughter in his voice.

Nathan thought for a short moment before answering. "Yeah, that was when… when Eddie got bitten in the butt by this huge dog." At once, both men laughed out so loud that some of the other people in the bar began to turn their heads into their direction.

"Yeah, Eddie's face was priceless." Cortina called through laughter before he continued. "Whatever happened to the old pirate-butt anyway?"

He immediately heard that the laughter from the American across talking silenced and that he stared to him with a regretful expression. "He… he died… directly I front of my eyes."

Chris realized and his face turned stern immediately. "Oh!" He said before taking another sip and then glancing around for a while. "How?"

"He got bitten by a cursed Spaniard form the 17th century and fell into a pit while I searched for El Dorado." He stared upwards at his old pal realizing that it wasn't so much disbelieve as more regret.

"Wow! That's no nice way to go out!" He replied dryly and brought the glass back up to his mouth.

"It sure isn't. I saw him sail down with that thing hanging around his body." Out of the sudden, Nathan felt some sadness and some regret growing inside his mind as he thought about Eddie Raja and how their friendship, well… it wasn't that much of a friendship than more of a love-hate rivalry went south like that.

Chris however turned his attention back onto the glass in front of him again. "When I think back on how often I watched someone die, it's kinda scary." He began tapping his fist slowly onto the table before he gave away a short chuckle. "That brings me to that one thing I did together with that British guy, you know… what's his name?" He said trying to get a grip on who he meant when Nathan went in dryly.

"Linneker?"

"No not him… that other one?"

Nate finally realized and said out loud. "Harry Flynn!?"

Cortina clapped his hands together as he leaned back into the chair and pointed towards Nathan. "That's him! That old smug! Haven't heard from him either in the last years." He laughed and then saw Nathan bowing his head and staring to the side. "He's dead too isn't he?!" He quickly went in and stopped laughing.

Drake simply nodded as he glanced back at him. Again, Cortina let his thought wander through his mind while turning the rum in his glass. "When you think about it… Raja, Vargas, Schmidt and now Flynn, all those guys gone, makes you somehow frustrated."

The two stared at each other again with Chris ordering a new glass. "And how did he put on his wings?"

"Killed himself with a grenade handed over by Zoran Lazarevic!"

"Let me guess… the search for Atlantis?"

"Shambala!"

"I think I gonna need two of these!" Chris added in frustration as one bartender brought his order to the table. The two kept silent for a while with people leaving and entering the bar.

After a while, Nathan felt the need to say something. "So once again… what is it that you want within all of this?" he asked which didn't surprise Cortina one bit.

He glared onto the table before looking up again. "I'm actually not that clear myself about what it is that my clients want." Only in some parts." He added with Nathan narrowing down his eyes again.

"Okay then, enlighten me. What are the arts that you about?" he asked the other man as he extracted his arms to the side.

Taking another drink, Chris started slowly. "Okay so… my clients once heard of this ancient legend about this city in the middle of the woods somewhere in south-east Asia. It was told that the inhabitants of the land brought all their most precious pieces and most valued things into this place in order to hide them from foreign forces and powers. However, wherever that city is… it must be filled with gold and riches as well as artifacts beyond someone's imagination. Can you believe something like this?"

This did indeed sound very familiar with something that came across Nathan's mind before. He has heard this story all too well before. He brought one edge of his mouth upwards and leaned glared shortly to the side. "You have no idea what I can imagine! And by the way, the city you are looking for is called Thimongrung." He added relaxed showing that he was already several steps ahead of the Canadian.

Chris didn't react with Nathan continuing to talk. "What else do you know?"

Cortina shrugged his shoulders before replying. "That's about it. The only thing I know is this urban legend."

That was another point that caught Nathan's attention. "So wait a minute here. Your client sent you on a giant treasure hunt without you having the slightest idea what it is and how you are going to get it. And you _agreed_ on it?" He asked bringing one of his eyebrows up. "Then tell me, if you have no clue on where to look, how in the hell did you manage to end up here?"

"Because he followed you! Just like we did."

Both men turned around at once as they heard the voice calling out to them and filling the whole bar. Now, in the middle of the room stood Taylor Lawrence, dressed in the same suit he wore during the day at the church. Along with him were Chen and six other Asian men. Lawrence walked up to the duo to sit down at their table. "Mr. Drake… and Mr. Cortina I guess!" he greeted them with Nate being surprised that he knew their names.

He answered with a nod of his head. "Lawrence!"

"Ass-wipe!" Came from Chris who emptied his drink.

The tall bearded man grinned at them as he himself got a drink brought to the table. "I must admit Mr. Drake; when you appeared back in Lisbon, I was beyond unprepared and surprised in how easily our plan got spoiled by you." He crossed his legs over each other before eyeing them again.

"But thankfully, I am a man that wants to eradicate those mistakes short after they are made." As the older one spoke, Nathan stared to the back at his surroundings and saw the other thugs taking their positions along the room. "Do you know what the legend of Thimongrung is about Mr. Drake?" Lawrence asked in a mocking voice before folding his fingers on top of the furniture.

"I heard a thing or two. Seems like there is a lot of shiny stuff lying around there." Nathan replied slowly shifting his position to be ready when the thunder would start. "By the way, you seem to already know about me. I find it a bit charming that you have such an interest in the man giving you a beating in Europe."

Lawrence didn't seem to be that tensed as he leaned back and stared at the American with calm eyes. "When it comes to face an enemy, you have to know how he ticks, what his weaknesses are. So that you can use them against them."

They both stared at each other before the older man turned his attention towards Chris. "And I would be especially careful with the people that you surround you with. Treasure and fortune hunters, thieves, mercenaries… those are all dangerous people."

Chris and Nathan exchanged glances with both of them turning their attention towards Chen who sat down on the table as well. "Better than to run around with your dogs!" Cortina said pointing at the men standing in their spots and waiting for the right moment to come. "Like this fella here!" Cortina went on pointing into Chen in the back. "Do you have to whistle for him to say something or is he numb?"

At once, Chen was on his feet and his edges ramming his elbow into the back of the chair and cutting it right in half. Right away, the noise in the bar was extreme. Both Cortina and Drake stopped staring at each other and the Canadian puffing a little bit in surprise. "Say that again… Yankee!" The Asian called before Chris emptied his second glass.

"Wrong nationality Jackie Chan. I'm a Canuck!" he said before punching Chen in the face. At once, the nose in the bar was extreme. Chris tried to get to his feet before he got punched in the face as well and got in contact with the table braking it in half.

Nathan took a bottle and smacked it over the head of one of another man coming from the side. He wanted to turn around and give Lawrence some, but the man was already in the back with the other ones approaching them from all sides.

"So Mr. Drake, would you mind handing the journals of Magellan over to me. Or do you prefer for us to come get them?"

Nathan and the other man had their backs leaned on each other as they stared around. "Just like old times huh?" Cortina said while Nate searched for the exit.+

"I hope not! Or else we're going to get our asses kicked tonight!"

With that, both swung their arms and gave tow of the attackers a punch in the face. Nathan was grabbed from behind as he moved backwards and pushed the Asian into the counter. He got off from him and Nate could barely get to the side as another one came from the front. Drake quickly grabbed another bottle of whiskey and hammered it onto the head of the thug. Before grabbing a chair and knocking the second one to the ground.

Chris for his part got back onto his feet as he stared at the table that had just broken under his weight. "You don't think that that's going to hold me down for long." He said as Chen answered with a martial arts kick to the head of the Canadian. Cortina tumbled to the side and just in time could get a hold of himself as he landed on one knee. "That's gonna cost you tinker bell!"

But Chen didn't respond with words than with a few roundhouse kicks and spin kicks to mock and demonstrate his superior fighting. And before the Canadian could react, the Asian had given him a kick to the groin and afterwards served him with a roundhouse kick which send Chris right back down onto his back. He tilted his head up to stare at the other man who just brought him down.

"Why do I get the feeling that I've been here before?" He muttered under his breath staring upwards to the ceiling.

In the back, Nathan ducked underneath a swing coming from an attacker before hammering his elbow into the man and grabbing his head from behind. Without wasting a second, he pushed his opponent face first into the counter and the collision gave away a nasty and numb sounding sound. But before Drake could go on, he received a kick into the back which sent him straight into the counter.

In the last moment, he was able to look up and saw one of the thugs coming towards him with a plate in his hands ready to hammer it into his head. But he rolled to the side and kicked him into his knee. The attacker collided with the counter and Nathan quickly grabbed him and let him sail over the counter into the shelf with numerous bottles and glasses in it.

Chris still stared to the ceiling as he heard the noises of the fight hailing through the whole room. Chen approached him carefully. But then out of the sudden, Chris suddenly pulled on his legs and flipped himself back onto his feet. Completely surprised, Chen moved back and began swinging his leg at the Canadian.

Yet he was able to avoid that and gave a spin kick into the direction of the Asian. The two stared at each other with Chris smiling to his opponent. "Oh, that's right!" With quick moves, the two threw punches and kicks at each other before they stopped in the middle of the room with them standing in fighting poses. Before Chen could go for another attack, one of his men fell into him and the duo tumbled over the ground.

Chris stared to the side and found Nathan coming towards him with another chair in his hand. "Let's get out of here!" he called and pulled on the arm and of Cortina.

Right in that moment, they both saw Lawrence searching for a gun in his pockets and the two quickly ran for the door. One of the attackers jumped in their way with Chris quickly kicking him in the stomach before they busted through the door.

The streets were dark and Nate immediately pulled out a phone dialing a number at once. "This way!" He called with Chris following short by and Nathan speaking into the phone. "Chloe, it's me! We need a getaway car… fast!" he called as they ran through the streets.

In that moment, the group led by Chen stepped out of the bar as well at once giving chase to the duo. Nathan was leading the way as the burst around a corner. They already could hear the group behind them calling their names and getting closer. He had no idea how, but they somehow knew exactly where they were going.

While going around another corner, Chris quickly grabbed a bunch of garbage containers and pushed them to the side trying to block the way of their pursuers. "Come on Chloe!" Nathan ached under his breath hearing the footsteps behind them.

Behind them, Chen and his men came to a halt in front of the barrier. Yet he didn't care as he jumped on the top of the container and rolled over it before landing on his feet on the other side. Finally having enough, he pulled out a Para 9mm with his partners doing the same.

Nathan as well as Chris could hear the gunfire that was closing in on them and brought the duo to their edges. To the left, the American could see a weak looking wooden fence which he jumped through immediately Chris followed short by and the two found themselves at the sidewalk of a clean-looking street.

"Where to now Sherlock?" Cortina muttered frustrated with Nathan staring from side to side. Behind them, Nate could hear the calls of their enemies and he started getting nervous.

Beside him, Chris himself searched his pockets and finally found what he was looking for. "Oh thank god I came prepared." He said pulling out a Desert-5 and cocking it. With a swift movement, he extracted his arm and pointing his gun at their enemies and firing it.

One of Chen's men got shot directly in his fac and fell to the ground immediately. At once, the rest of them fired at him and Nathan quickly shoved Chris out of the way and hid behind a wall. Drake glanced down on him and raised his eyebrows. "Why the hell didn't you…" A bullet passed him just by inches as he heard the whiz coming from it and he fell back.

But not one second too late, a grey colored 4x4 jeep came racing down the street and stopped just behind them with squealing tires. Both Chris and Nathan stared at the woman reaching out and firing a gun as well which forced the group behind them to jump into cover. "GET IN!" Chloe yelled and the two men didn't even waste a second to hop in.

Right away, the Australian woman floored the pedal and the trio drove away with the Asians staring after them and Chen immediately feeling his blood boiling inside him. With an angry growl, he kicked at a metal can hitting right through it. After tossing it away, he passed the other man and walked back into the alley.

* * *

After driving at a ridiculous speed through the city, Chloe pulled the jeep to a halt right in front of their hotel with Chris and Nathan jumping right out of it and entering the main hall of it. The porter greeted them but right away tilted back his head as he saw the gun that Cortina carried with him. The group wasted no time and took the stairs to get to their floor.

"And… did you have a nice evening?" She asked as she stared from side to side and into the faces of the two men.

Both of them stared to the ground without facing her. Nathan folded his arms and stared at the elevator clock. "We have to get the documents and leave this city ASAP. Those guys are not going to give up." The elevator opened and the trio stepped out of it and walked right towards the room of Nathan and Chloe. Chris quickly opened the door and they walked inside.

But the moment they gazed around the room, their hearts stopped and their faces filled with shock and horror. Sitting on one of the beds was Taylor Lawrence with one of his legs lying above the other and a pack of potato chips in his hands.

Beside him stood Chen leaning against a wall and having his arms folded together and a grim look on his face. After Chris, Chloe and Nathan walked closer; a duo of men shut the door behind them and pointed their guns at the trio. Nathan gulped and he quickly stared towards Chris who was still holding his gun and was ready to fire at their enemies.

"Now my friends, I suppose that you really thought that it was that easy to screw me over again." The bearded man let handed the chips over to another attacker before rubbing his hand together and circling around the group. "Now… let's talk about those journals that you have found."

* * *

**Author's note:** I don't know how the Indian law portrays the use of alcohol in public and if Indians used to drink. But then again, the Rum Cortina takes is an Indian (at least due to google)

Keep in mind that though there are real places and names used in this fic. The picture inside the church as well as some architectural choices are done due to story purposes. And of course, there is no lingual museum of Asia in Cochin. The place is completely fictional.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you tune in next week. Until then... take care.


	4. Battered and bruised

Hello you all!

And we reached another week and another Chapter of the story.

**Marinawings: **Thanks again! The mixture of truth, legend and myths has always been something that made an adventure movie. And the uncharted series as games is not that different. Stuff like the Arc, the holy grail or the Atlantis of the sand are things that are real legends. And each one of those has at least a little bit history with them. Although that can be reduced right down to nothing. And that was something I wanted to catch.

**Purplebox63010: **Hehehe… thanks a lot.

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Uncharted: Curse of the moon

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**- 3 –**

Battered and bruised

* * *

The associates of Lawrence searched the whole hotel room for the documents that Nathan and Chloe had brought out of the museum. During all that time, the treasure hunter duo watched while they kept exchanging glances from side to side. To the side of the room, Chen became more and more annoyed at how long it took for them to find it.

Around them, the room got more and more trashed. The beds were swung around and the mattresses lied cut open in the corners, the cases of the cupboards were ripped out and thrown through the room as well. Chen wandered around the place and observed the scenery and his followers carefully.

One of the men just moved out the carpet to glance at the naked floor and search for any holes and secret stocks in the ground. There was even a slight smile on Nathan's face as he watched what the guy was doing. "Not going to find it there." He said into the ear of his partner. "And I bet you the next thing he's going to say is 'where the hell is it'." He continued right away.

Up in front, Lawrence got more and more frustrated before kicking into a cupboard. "Alright now, where the hell is it?"

"Not bad!" Chris whispered back into the ear of Nathan before bringing his hands up, who were still in handcuffs, and scratching his neck.

Yet the two had to stare to the front with the bearded tall man walking up to them with a stern expression on his face. "Alright fellows, this is your last chance. Where… are… the documents?" He eyed both the Canadian and the American who just began to shake their heads.

In that moment, Chen was back beside Lawrence and folded his arms. "You better listen and tell the man what he wants to know." He said with his accent and stared into Cortina's eyes as well. But again, the man simply shook his hand again. But without waiting a single second, Chen kicked Chris in the stomach before punching him in the face and sending him down onto his knees.

Cortina grunted under his breath as he struggled to get back on to his feet. "Whoa! What the…" He muttered and was still a bit shaky yet kept his mouth shut seeing how Lawrence now began facing Nathan.

"I hope you are a bit more cooperative than your friend next to you." He said before pulling out his gun again. "And if not, there are ways to make the choice for you." With that, he pointed it towards the head of Chloe before Nathan became even more nervous.

"If you kill her, you'll never find it." He warned him and extracted his cuffed hands in front of him. Lawrence stopped from his move and stared deeply into his adversaries eyes.

The moment lasted for quite a while until Taylor grinned while pulling the gun away from Chloe's head. "I guess you're right. After all, with all the stuff we turned around in this place, I don't think that the journals are here. Isn't that right?" he said turning towards Chloe and then back to Nate.

He turned around and faced Chen again who stood beside him. "Bring them to the villa. Sooner or later, they're going to give us what they want. The human body is only able to resist pressure for a little bit." He was very cryptic in what he said as he moved towards the door and exited the room into the empty hallways of the hotel.

Chen now stood just inches away from Chris as he grinned at him yet showing the despise and hatred that he held for the Canadian. "No funny insult now huh?" He mocked him while also showing a triumphant grin to Nathan and Chloe.

"Oh, I got a few but… your mind wouldn't get them anyway!"

At once, the Asian kicked Cortina in the stomach before punching him in the face and sending him down to his knees. The Canadian grunted underneath his breath while trying to catch it again. "Whoa!" He muttered and slowly got back onto his shaky feet. "Oh am I gonna enjoy killing you!" He said completely out of breath and trying his best to keep calm and in control of the situation.

With that done, the other men in the room began shoving Nathan and his friends into the corridor as well. Since it was in the middle of the night, no one could be seen. Silently and with guns held to their heads, the trio of treasure hunters walked down the stairs with Chen leading the way and the others following short by.

Soon, they stepped out of the hotel and into the still warm night, or at least morning with the sky getting brighter on the horizon. Ever since the discovered Lawrence and his men waiting for them in their hotel room, he thought about how they were going to get out of this. But the matter of fact was, for now he didn't know how.

They were each shoved into a black Mercedes S-Class 221 with its windows being completely covered black. Nathan took a last look up to the building before he vanished inside the car.

* * *

After quite a while, the trio around Nathan Drake stopped in one of the more noble areas of the city. The lots and the sites around here were huge with giant gardens surrounding the houses placed in the middle of them. The site in which the Mercedes stopped in front was surrounded by a huge hedge.

Nathan was the first to step out of the car and walk for a huge Steel gate and into the place. A way made out of white stones led to a villa designed in white stone as well. Various pillars sat at the front side of the house and Drake could see several guards standing all around the place. Spotlights lightened the building from below with the night getting even more brighter.

He could see two guards, not Asians this time, opening the huge dark wooden door and he was shoved to the inside right away. Chris and Chloe were right behind him with the Australian woman feeling slight shivers going down her spine.

Of course, she had been in this situation before. Hell, she was in far worse situations like this before. Yet there always was the chance of not getting out of it again. And there was slight part inside her that made this fear grow in her.

From the inside, the house had a very western look to it. It looked almost American to the people inside. The floor was made out of wood and there was a huge stair leading to the second floor. Huge paintings hang around on the grey walls with several plants being placed in corners of the main hall. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling and the Australian woman as well as the Canadian mercenary behind stared around at the people glancing at them.

"Ah, there you are!" They heard Taylor Lawrence call from the top of the stairs as he extracted his arms and came walking down to them. Nathan was grabbed on his shoulder and he stopped right away. "Make yourselves comfortable. We have a lot to discuss." He added and rubbed his hands together as he approached the trio again.

Nathan and Chris exchanged glances and rolled their eyes. There was a strange smile on the man's face as he glanced from one person to the other. The American brought his head closer towards Chloe and tried to whisper into her ear. "Whatever happens, don give away where you put the journals." He warned her with his face becoming very serious.

Lawrence looked at Drake and then to Chris before his face turned from the smile into a frown and his eyes narrowed down. "Where are the journals?" He said and stopped right in front of the Canadian mercenary.

"What the hell do I know?" Cortina replied directly shrugging his shoulders.

Again, the bearded man nodded and grabbed him at his shirt. "I have been extremely patient with you people, but even my patience has some limits. And I hope that you can be the voice of reason in your group."

Chris couldn't resist but chuckle at his remark. "You seem to have no knowledge about me. But you know what… I'm not even a part of their group. You can do whatever you want with me, they are not going to change their mind." He said as he got pushed a little bit by the bearded man.

Both Nathan and Chloe looked at each other with a little worry in their eyes as Lawrence spoke out again. "Interesting!" He gave a command with his hands and two men came walking over grabbing Chris by the shoulders and his hand before putting the cuffed hands on a table nearby.

In that moment, Chen walked up to them and towered over the Canadian. The two stared at each other with the Asian man showing all the hatred that he felt for the buzz cut man. "Oh how I am going to enjoy this!" He muttered pulling a knife from his belt before hitting him in the face numerous times.

Chris spit some blood onto the ground as he coughed a few times under some heavy breaths. But right away, he got pulled up and his arms lied directly on the table again. While Nate and Chloe stared at them sorrow and regret, Nathan had a feeling that the Canadian was beginning to dig his own grave. "Is that all you got Chop Suey?" he said and spit blood onto the ground again.

"Not quite!" Chen replied in a dark voice tightening the grip on the knife in his hand and bringing it down.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The scream filled the whole house as Cortina cried completely in horror and pain. Chen had taken the knife and rammed it through the mercenary's left hand. The knife got stuck inside and Chloe as well as Drake turned their faces away from the scene.

Cortina kept screaming until he sunk together on the ground after the Asian pulled the knife back out. Blood spread everywhere and Chris was close to crying while Lawrence and the others stared at him without showing any sign of regret. "McIntosh, would you get some bandages and plasters for Mr. Cortina, oh and some neuters since Mr. Cortina is ruining our floor."

Still, Nathan watched the man rolling around on the floor and holding his hand while crying out loud. Chris was heaved onto a chair as a man with a black suit brought some bandages and worked on the injured hand.

After that, Lawrence and Chen turned their attention towards Drake and another two people began grabbing the American pulling him towards the table as well. Nathan struggled but was unable to hold them off from placing his hand on the table as well.

"Nate!" Chloe called as she watched him trying to get free while Chris sank back onto the ground deeply in pain.

"Well Mr. Drake, that is only the first step in a long way of pain that lies before you; unless of course, you want to tell us where you kept the journals." Lawrence continued to say as Chen whipped the blood from his blade.

He slowly lifted the knife above the American ready to ram it into the hand of Drake. He was about to do it when Chloe screamed up in fear bringing her hands up and rushing forth. "Wait!" Chen stopped at once and the group at the Australian woman and a smirk appearing on the bearded man's face. "If you stop right now, I'll bring you to the documents." She said in defeat while Nathan stared at her with his heart still pounding from the events earlier.

Right away Lawrence raised his hands and ordered a man from the side coming to them. "Glad that we could get to an agreement." He gave the man at his side a small briefcase and a radio set. "Since you are the more reasonable one of your trio, I guess that you should go right ahead and get it." He turned his attention to the man at his side before instructing him. "Go with her, if she tries anything stupid. Report!"

He then turned back onto her and walked closer to Chloe. "If you try to screw us over, those two friends of yours are going to get more and just a stabbed hand." He said grabbing the woman on her arms. "Remember, my associate here will keep a close eye on you."

He gave another wink with his hands and the man shoved her forwards towards the door. Chloe threw a last glance at Nate which said something like. _I'm sorry!_ Nathan let his head hung down as he got pulled up by another two men as he got shoved towards another door.

Nathan and Chris stared into some sort of cellar before he got kicked in the back. Barely able to hold his balance, he managed to keep his neck from braking before he landed on the ground shortly followed by Cortina. The Canadian was still screaming and crying under the pain he felt in his hand.

Yet Nathan quickly got onto his backside and stared upwards as Chen and some of his friends coming down the stairs. The Asian smirked vicious before cracking his knuckles and closing in on the two.

"Why do I get the feeling that you are not here to get me back on my feet?" Nathan remarked shoving some dust from his body with his cuffed hands. Beside him Chris eyed the group as well though he was still tumbling from the pain.

"Because we're not!" Chen said and he delivered the first punch in a long series of punches.

With Nathan and Chris getting beat up back at the villa, Chloe had her own problems to deal with. The Australian woman was been escorted as she along with three men watching her drove through the city with glimpses of the sun showing on the horizon. One of them drove with another sitting on the front seat and another one watching her closely from the side.

* * *

The streets were still empty which gave the temptation to put the medal down to the floor even more. Yet they didn't and kept driving within speed limits. After all, all it took was a single police car to catch them and their whole plan was ruined.

Chloe kept her gaze directed to the outside as she kept getting reminded of the things she had seen earlier. Of course, she had seen people getting tortured. During her time along Lazarevic, she saw stuff like this nearly every day. Yet with Nathan still in that house, she was getting more and more uncomfortable.

"Where to now?" She heard one of the three snap at her with a grunt and she turned around by folding her arms.

"To the train station." Chloe replied shortly before turning her face away again. "The documents are stored in a vault inside the station." Right away, the driver pulled the car around and the group drove down from the highway into a tunnel leading towards the building.

Ernakulam Junction was one of the two train stations in Kochi. The walls of the building where of a white color and the outside looked rather modern compared to other buildings in the city. But then again, it was rather small building and didn't look all that modern from the inside. The front was decorated with several brownish red stones and woods that hung on the walls.

In front on a small street stood various small three wheeled vehicles. The group around Chloe parked their Mercedes which already got all the attention from the people passing by. They stepped out and Chloe could immediately see two police officers walking by on the street. But there was no chance for her to give notice of what was going on here. She would be dead within an instant.

From the inside, the earlier mentioned modern look was a bit washed away. The floor was cream colored and though the walls were still white, they showed a milky and dirty sight. A dark red/brown wooden ceiling hung above the ground and small black video screens with led's showing the numerous trains that were taking off from the station.

Chloe was the first one to enter as she stared around and saw the masses of people walking around and searching for the trains they had to catch. Right away, she got shoved to the front and one of her guards grabbing her arm from behind. "You lead the way. And no foul tricks." He warned her as they began walking.

Slowly but determined, Chloe led the group through the masses of people before coming to a halt just beside a corner which lead to the side of the hall. She led the trio down a side corridor with various rows of lockers standing around to their left. Again, she came to a halt in front of one and quickly pulled out a small key. After unlocking the door, she got shoved to the side and saw the man taking out the bounded papers along with Nathan's journal.

As she got passed to the side, she could see one of the guns that the men carried with them hanging loose. Without wasting a second, she took her chance and with a swift move, stole the gun out from the man's belt. "Alright gentlemen! Would you mind handing over the journals yourselves?" She demanded with one of her arms extracted.

All three of her capturers gritted their teeth as they couldn't believe how stupid they had been. The one who took the documents out of the locker stared at his two partners before handing the stuff over to her. Chloe never took her eyes off them and quickly began moving away from them. "Thank you!" She simply said before vanishing around the corner.

Hitting his fist into his hand, the one in the front gazed back to his friends. "After her!" He called with the trio pulling their weapons.

Chloe ran as fast as she could through the masses of people who got more hectically and confused with the black haired woman storming through the hall while shoving people aside. She busted through the main entrance and almost got hit by one of those small vehicles. After hectically staring around, she saw the only chance for her to get out of here.

Running as fast as she could, Chloe raced over the place in front of the station as the other three hammered through the door as well. They directly pointed their guns into her directions and didn't think twice before shooting through the crowd at the Australian woman.

Yells and screams filled the air as people jumped left and right and onto the ground with the three starting to run after Chloe. With fast steps, Chloe bumped into various people before she ran down a small stair to get behind a low wall.

In the back, her captures tried to chase after her once more. But right away, they heard another salve of machine guns firing through the air. At once, the three men dropped to the ground as they found themselves surrounded by police officers. That was exactly the situation Chloe needed. With another pair of quick steps, she rushed over the street until she reached the black Mercedes.

"Now we're talking!" She called as she pulled out the keys of both the car and her handcuffs. After, making herself loose and opening the door to the car, she wasted no second and turned the keys before driving off into the distance. She could have left this place now and get out of this misery before it become too late. But then again she couldn't. She had to get the other two out of that villa. So Chloe immediately picked up speed and drove off to get back to the place where Lawrence and his captives were.

* * *

Nathan's head tumbled from side to side with every punch that he received from Chen. Blood and sweat tripled down from his cheeks and left a small pond on the ground. Due to the constant hitting, his vision became blurry. No, it wasn't as much blurry. It was more of his vision turning more and more black and white. The noises around him were barely hearable and he could hear his own heartbeat.

Another fist collided with his head and he felt his head fell to the side to a point where he could barely control himself. All that while he heard other gasps and groans of pain to is left side. By now, he and Chris were handcuffed to two chairs with both their hands behind their back.

Chen hit the American with both his left and right hand and tumbled to the side even more. After another five minutes of pain, he heard someone yelling out towards the Asian and the punching stopping short after.

"Damnit Chen! You were supposed to teach them a lesson and not kill them." Both heard one of the suited men saying and Chen turning his head to look at him.

He gave Drake another despising stare before spitting into the face of the treasure hunter. With angry grunts and heavy steps, he left the two and trotted back into the main house. After the door closed and the duo found themselves alone in the basement, they both let out a sigh of relieve with Chris spitting out some blood onto the ground. "I thought he would never leave!" He called in sarcasm and through a weak and hurt voice.

Nathan shook his head as he tried to get some sense back into his body. "A few minutes more and I would have needed weeks to find my teeth." He groaned and stared up to the ceiling. "I bet it's daylight out there by now." He continued and took another look at his surroundings.

"I can't say I know. I kinda lost my sense of time over the last… hours." Both men needed a few minutes to get their game together again. Chris tried to get both his hands out of his handcuffs. But the metal rings about it were so tight that they cut into his flesh. "I got a question Drake. How come that every time I meet you, we end up in this miseries?" He asked with a weak voice and Nathan could hear the coughs and gulps in his throat.

Drake thought for a moment. The last time he found himself in such a situation was when he searched for the eye of Indra. Yet back then, that was part of his plan to fight of the bad guys. But then again, he stopped counting the times he was in this kind of dangers. "I don't know actually! Bad luck seems to follow me around everywhere."

Chris wiped his head left and right and shook off some blood that ran into his eyes. "That makes a man wonder what point there is to go on with this life!" Cortina brought in another point which made Drake turn his head and face the Canadian beside him. "You know that we're dead the moment your friend hands over the documents to this guy?"

Nathan simply nodded and stared back onto the ground with Cortina shaking his head again to tune down a major headache. "Off all the dangerous places I have been in my life, I never imagined that I would die in a basement while cuffed to a chair."

"Nobody's going to die down here!" Nathan then remarked which caused Cortina to stare at the American as well. He could see him shift his position while gritting his teeth in high concentration. Seconds later, he heard a click behind him and Nathan brought his now free arms to the front while calling out. "Finally!"

The eyes of the Canadian mercenary went wide as they had never been and he stared at Drake completely shocked. "What the…" he narrowed his eyes and cooled his reaction down again. "When?"

Nathan brought one edge of his mouth to a smile and he rubbed his ankles. "Right after I got shoved down here." He said with a relaxed tone before walking slowly towards the other man tied to the chair. He made Chris lose and the Canadian right away got to his feet and ready to storm up the stairs and kick some butt.

"Not like this!" Nathan said as he put one of his arms in front of the chest of his fellow. "If you open that door and without having a weapon, you're only going to end up with a bullet wound." He continued to say putting his handcuffs back into his pocket. "We need weapons… but we have to be silent. I don't know how many guys are still up there and that we have to fight in order to get out of here."

Cortina tightened his lips as he thought about that. "That's actually very thoughtful of you! I'm in!"

Upstairs, Lawrence and Chen kept walking around the upper level of the main hall. The Asian had his back turned against the balustrade and his arms folded in front of his chest. He had his head directed to the ground while Lawrence kept padding around in front of him and holding a phone to his right ear.

The bearded man kept getting more and more impatient as he waited for the person on the other end of the line to reply." After what seemed like an eternity to Chen, the suited man put down the phone and inhaled deeply. "The others are not responding. I am certain that there's something going wrong." He said and pressed the phone shut again.

"I told you we should have killed one right from the start!" Chen grunted following Lawrence as he marched over towards the stairs. "If you would have let me handle those three punks we could…"

He was silenced immediately as the American raised his hand and made the Asian quiet down immediately. "You know, there's a reason why people like you are not in charge." He ignored the frustrated and annoyed grunts coming from the other man before he continued to speak. "But then again, you have a certain point here. We should set an example on the two down below." He continued and the duo stopped at the feet of the stairs before Lawrence faced him again.

"But… don't do anything to Drake. He is the one of the duo that we need given the case that Mrs. Frazer dumped our three friends. He knows what we search and where to find that. Yet the other one is… exposable."

He gave a wink to two men at the side who all drew their guns with silencers on top. Slowly the duo opened the door and stared down the stairs leading into the basement. Chen peeked into the room and found the other two still sitting with their hands behind their backs and staring up at them.

All two came walking down with their guns pointed at them. Drake began smirking at them with the Asian standing right behind them. "Well my fellows. Your dear friend might have found more interest in the documents than in saving your life… I guess that seals your fate." He said and pointed to one of the men who walked right up at Cortina pointing his gun at his head.

Yet what he didn't expect was the Canadian bringing his head up and ramming both his fist into the sides of his head before grabbing his hand and twisting it around. At the same time, Drake brought one of his feet up and kicked the other one with the gun right into the groin.

Chen glared completely confused around the room before he tried to pull a gun himself. But before he could, the other ones were lying on the ground while both Cortina and Drake had their guns pointed at the other one. Chen wanted to react but Chris hammered the shaft of his gun into the side of his head and knocked him out directly.

Drake and the Canadian were tensed directly from the start waiting for any other guys coming down from the house at any moment. Without saying a word, the American nodded his head to the side towards the door and Cortina right away moved slowly upwards.

He crouched as he saw the short-cut man slowly tilting his head around the corner. From the peak of his eye, he saw a fist coming from the right and Chris tilted his head back to avoid the punch coming. He quickly got hold of the arm and pulled the man into the basement throwing him down the stairs.

Within seconds, Nathan rushed around the corner and opened fire on a small group that have taken cover behind a couch. Chris followed and rolled over the floor giving a few shots at their enemies. Drake saw another pair of people coming up at the top of the hall and staring down on them with their guns drawn. "Move it Cortina, we gotta go!" He called as he clapped the Canadian on the shoulder.

They both stared up again seeing Lawrence completely calm and resting his hands on the balustrade. The second he wasted to stare at their enemy was enough for another man to grab him from the side and make an opening for the others to open fire.

But Nathan quickly pulled him around as the bullets coming from Lawrence collided with the man's back. Chris used that to shoot at them and made their enemies hide behind the counters and couches. Drake moved to the door and found a closet standing short by as he signed his partner to walk to the outside. "This way!" He added and Chris walked right past him busting through the main door.

The American wasted no second to throw the closet to the side blocking the way of their attackers as best as he could. Lawrence hammered his fist onto the balustrade in frustration as he saw the two leaving the building.

Finally getting to the outside and staring into the morning sun, Chris and Nathan quickly stared around trying to find the best chance for their getaway. The duo had to hide behind a few pillars as another group of men fired another salve of shots into their direction. Immediately, Nate had to dive to the side as he heard a machine gun firing at them from the side. Chris quickly, drew his gun and fired back.

The bullet hit the man in the suit directly between the eyes. It was something that gave the duo a short time to think again. Nathan spotted one of the black Mercedes from earlier and he quickly gave Chris a sign to run towards it. Cortina kept firing as he had to reload his weapon. Right away, Nathan glided inside with the Canadian circling around and firing shots at the groups of enemies.

"Come on!" Nathan grunted frustrated as he tried to turn the keys.

Finally, the car roared up and within seconds, Chris was inside taking the passenger's seat. And not a second too soon as Lawrence alongside Chen busted through the main door and fired at them as well. "Hold on!" Nathan continued to call as he began racing through the yard and directly towards the main door.

"Do you honestly think you can bust through that and expect this bucket to go on?" Cortina called holding on tight to his seat.

Nathan almost screamed as the duo raced through the gate which gave away a loud and nasty crack before it broke in half. The hood of the car began flying off and Nate turned the car to drive onto the street.

But then right away, Nathan directly rammed the Mercedes into another car coming from the side hitting them spot on. Chris bumped his head on the windshield as they came to halt on the middle of the street. He right away got out and reloaded his gun again. "Now that little getaway didn't get us that far."

Drake held his head staring to all sides and searching for another way to go on, he could hear and see their enemies coming up from the facility shooting once again into their direction. "How many bullets do you have left?" He asked the mercenary at his side checking the left bullets in his own mag.

And that was when they heard another black Mercedes coming down the street and into a halt on the other side of the street with screeching tires. The window rolled down and revealed the head of Chloe Frazer. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" She asked and the two men stared at each other confused.

"I like this girl!" Cortina said and they both raced over while the Australian woman gave them cover fire.

They both sat down in the car and the trio drove off into the distance. For the first in hours, they could take a deep breath as they saw that no one was following them. Chris leaned back into his chair and inhaled deeply as well. "Wow, that was close!" He said closing his eyes while Chloe turned the car back onto the freeway.

With the adrenalin built up by the last hours finally tuning down: The pain that Nathan felt through his whole body began calling in. He leaned back into the chair as he had trouble holding his eyes open. The most important thing he wanted to do was go asleep and rest. Yet that was when he realized that he couldn't. They were in still in danger as long as they kept staying in this city.

"A little bit too close for my taste!" He heard Chloe call through the car from the driver's seat while he stared out of the window only half listening to the Australian woman. "We have to get out of here as fast as possible." She continued to say as she kept glaring through the mirror searching for anyone following them.

Nathan on the other hand stared to the back where his Canadian partner leaned back and tried to keep his eyes open due to the exhaustion and the blood loss. "We can't leave now, we have to get to a doctor first." He said touching his chin and felling for any fractions.

At his left, Chloe widened her eyes a little bit at the thought of what her friend was saying. "Yeah right, like that's good idea. Those guys are still after us… and they know that you two are injured as hell. The moment we step into a normal hospital, they'll be on our tails again. And don't you think that the doctors won't have any questions themselves if you go in there with your bodies all beaten up like this.

As much as Nathan hated to admit it, she had a point. With their faces looking like old punching bags, the cops would be after them within seconds. In the back, Cortina was able to finally look back at the duo in front. "As much as I would like to get out of India really fast, Drake here has a point." He said leaning his head to the side with closed eyes again. "I barely have any feeling left in my hand."

Again, Nathan kept thinking of what to do and where they could go. On the outside, he could see the huge mountainside that surrounded the city like a wall. And that was when he finally got the idea.

"I know where we can go, just keep driving on the highway in northern direction." He ordered from his seat and Chloe right away turned the wheel with the vehicle vanishing from the inside of the city.

* * *

Back in the mansion, Lawrence walked back through the main door to the inside of the house as he stared at the debris that was spread all across the main hall. He was accompanied by a small Indian man with a pair of glasses and short black hair wearing a yellow, cream and orange chastened button up shirt.

On the opposite of them stood two Indian police officers with one of them talking to the Indian man at the Americans side. After listening to the officer, the man wth the glasses turned towards Lawrence and began to speak. "They wanted to know if the robbers took anything with them as they left the house."

Lawrence had his hands behind his back as he glared from side to side preparing an answer to give to them. "They took some very important artifacts out of the family's possession with them. It is most important for me to find them as quickly as possible." He gave away and tried to sound as innocent and polite as possible.

As the man with the glasses began to translate, another one of the other police officers took a close look at the bullet holes in the wall. Lawrence knew that there were a lot of questions to come from all the gunfire that had previously happened. Yet he also knew that if he wanted, he could pull the police under his control just the way he needed them.

Slowly, the police began walking to the outside to turn their attention back onto the mess outside. One of them as well as the translator greeted him before walking outside. After they had left, the American heard Chen approaching from behind and giving away frustrated growls.

Yet Lawrence didn't react. Just after the Asian man continued to stomp his foot into the wall, he turned around and faced him. "Would you be so kind and relax Mr. Chen. This whole anger issue of yours is not going to make things better."

For the already mad man, this was like a slap into the face. He clenched his fists as he tried to stay calm. "Are you freaking kidding me? You had them, if you would have killed one of them from the start, none of this would have happened. Now they have the journals and the maps, and we have nothing that we could make count in the chase for Thirmongrung."

As the two kept arguing, the movement around them stopped. Within an instant and groups containing of the suited man behind Lawrence and the Asian men behind Chen had gathered and threw angry glances into the directions of the other one.

"Mr. Chen, I knew from the start that you were a tough partner to handle, but you really start to make me wonder why we began our little cooperation in the first place." It took a few moments before Lawrence eased up again and brought his hands behind his back again. "But then again, I have to give you one thing… this was the second time that I underestimated the capabilities of Mr. Drake and his friends."

The moment he heard this, Chen began to ease up with the other one keeping to talk. "That is something that will definitely happen again… I think it's time for Mr. Drake to find out how vulnerable he is and how serious we are with this whole situation."

* * *

And that seals today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed and that you come back next week when we get out of India.


	5. Friend or foe

What's up!?

Sorry about not updating last week. Though I hate not catching deadlines and dates, I sometimes have a hard time catching up and taking my time to continue writing and observe chapters to finish them for release. It just has to do with my day job which takes about 10 hours of my time a day.

But then again, I will try my best to keep the schedule and the punctuality.

So, let's dive back into the story.

* * *

- 5 -

Friend or foe

* * *

Every inch of Nathan's face hurt as he stared into the small flashlight that shined directly into his eyes. The American had settled down on a chair in the middle of a small doctor's office while he got investigated on. At his side sat a middle-aged Indian man who was rather small compared in size.

He had short grey hair which had fallen off from the top of his head and only left a few single hairs left on it. He had a huge pair of glasses sitting on his nose and his eyes wandered around the counters with several instruments sitting on it.

At the side of the room stood Chloe with her arms folded and her waiting for the doctor to finish his work. Behind another wall made of glass sat Chris Cortina having to go through a similar procedure as a nurse began stitching his hand back together.

"As far as I can see, there has been no major danger down to your chin. Just a bit swollen and bumped. I also can't see any big traumas on your brain and head. Just rest for the next few times and you will be fine." The man said in broken English before putting the flashlight back into his counter.

Nathan ran his hand over his face before shaking his head and getting up from the chair. He rubbed the side of his right arm before clapping the Indian man on the shoulder. "Thanks Yathavan!" Nathan said and walked over to where Chloe was still waiting.

"No problem!" the older man said as he himself stood up and walked away from the counter as well.

Both Nathan and Chloe stepped through the glass door and they walked into the room where Chris was getting his hand fixed. He kept snarling as the nurse continued to stitch his hand while he kept shifting back and forth on his seat.

As the Canadian was short to scream out and move away from the spot, the nurse grabbed him by the arm and spoke out in Hindu which was basically a mix between anger and annoyance to make him hold still. "God damn it! When I find that bastard again, I will definitely screw him up big time." He grunted which gave both Chloe and Nathan amused expressions.

"For now… let's hope that those guys won't encounter us again." The Australian woman said as she folded her arms in front of her again. Outside the doctor's office, the sun began to sink and the office itself was set into a golden and orange light.

A moment of silence passed and the trio stared around the room while the nurse gave Chris some last adjusting to the bandages. Chris tested his hand a bit which made him receive some other angry glares from the nurse before he faced the American again. "So Drake… what now?" He asked and Nathan brought his hand to his chin.

"First… we get out of India." He replied walking around the room.

"We can't go back to the hotel since that didn't go well the last time." Chloe got to their feet and the trio got ready to leave the building.

"We have to leave the country under the radar. Away from the big public airports." He continued with Chris following right behind.

"I can get us some help with that!" Cortina added and Nathan stared back at him a little surprised. The trio walked over a small parking lot revealing a small town behind them which looked rather new and clean compared to the dusty and steady landscape around them.

The sun in the sky was rather hard to see since the smog coming from the cities short blocked its path from them. "Alright we are going to meet Charlie on Mactàn. We should be careful with the journals and not let it anyone see them except for us. If Lawrence and his goons managed to find us before, they may do t again."

They walked over to the black stolen Mercedes and Chloe once again took the driver's seat with Nate on the passenger's seat and Cortina on the back seat. Nathan waited until they were right before he turned around to Chris once again. "Are you coming with us?" He asked right away which caught Chloe a little bit off guard.

Yet before she could say anything, the Canadian smirked t Drake and quickly shook his hand. "I'm okay with that, just leave the rest to me… I will give you a ride:" He said and Chloe began to drive.

* * *

Even though, time was short for the two treasure hunters and the mercenary, both Nathan and Chloe knew that the risk of taking a flight out of the country wasn't as easy as it could get. In order to stay under the radar, the trio took their places on a small freight ship that was heading into their direction. Chris was the one to make the deal with the captain and made it possible of the trio to sail across the ocean as blind passengers.

It was night in Cochin and the sky was sprinkled with stars. On the northern side of the city stood the rather small but relatively new harbor that served Nathan and the others as a starting point on their journey through Asia. The lights of the harbor left many dark corners on the dock as a rather small grey colored Mahindra drove through the gates directly on one of the docks in the direction of a small freight ship.

The vessel was colored in grey with rust beginning to show on numerous parts of it. The inscription on port side showed them the name 'pacific blitz'. Nathan was the first to step out of the car as he stared directly at the object that would become their home for the next week.

Chloe stopped right beside the American as she stared up to the ship as well. "Now… that looks promising." She said in sarcasm folding her arms in front of her chest.

"Oh come on, it isn't that bad." The Canadian replied clapping both of them on the shoulder.

Both Nathan and Chloe turned around and faced their partner with an expression that said... _are you freaking kidding me?_

With a confused glare, Chris shrugged his shoulders while bringing his arms up a little bit. "What?... I was short on time!" He gave away before his gaze wandered off to a small group of Asian men in the distance. "Now, if you excuse me!" He continued walking over to the group and leaving his fellow travelers behind.

After Chloe leaned closer to her friend once again. "I have a bad feeling about this."

For a second, Nathan thought if he should reply. But he waited until they began walking up to the stairs and get onto the board. "Come on, we have been on worse ships than this." He said with a wink and showed some amusement in his voice.

"It's not only the ship I'm worried about!" She replied jumping down onto the deck. "It's also the company we are keeping with us." Her eyes wandered up and down the ship. "I don't know if we can really trust this guy!" She added as she kept glaring at Chris who still kept talking to the people that seemed like the crew of the ship.

Drake was a bit taken aback by her statement. "Come on Chloe! After all what happened in the last days? He had just as much bad luck with this as we did. Those guys would have killed him too, just relax for a moment."

Yet Chloe wasn't that convinced in that moment and turned her head from the side to side. "I just think it's a bit off. Just the moment we are here to get a clue on another great mystery, he shows up and surprises us on the outside of the museum. Right when we need to get away out of this place, he pops up with this guys and their boat and…" She trailed off as she waved her arms and her hand in front of her face before letting out a frustrated gasp.

"Argh… it's just that… what we have gone through with Harry, I don't know if it is wise to trust this guy."

Nathan for his part listened carefully while having his arms folded as well. "Well whatever… we needed a way out of here and we got one. So for now… let's keep going." He said moving along the deck to get out of their quarters.

As they vanished into the inside of the ship, Chris glared at them from down below, his mouth turned into a smirk as he saw them disappearing. He shook the hand of the captain and then followed the group along the stairs upwards.

* * *

It took another hour for the ship to set course and get into motion. The sea on the outside was rough and the ship was moving from side to side due to the waves and the strong winds. Nathan and Chloe's quarters were located just beside the cargo hall in a small side room.

Two green colored field beds were placed just between the various boxes and bags. The only light that was provided by the duo was a rather large lamb hanging from the ceiling and tumbling from side to side. Nathan had himself seated on one of the beds with Magellan's report placed at his side.

He ran through the sides while he took notes and wrote them down in his own journal. "Who said that Magellan didn't write down anything? These journals have everything written in them that we need." Nate said before he continued reading.

"I was amazed by the carvings and the inscriptions on the wall that I found as I entered the temple. None of us has ever seen a pagan cult like this." He stopped and laid the book back down on the bed before he grabbed his satellite phone. He didn't wait and began dialing a number before he waited for someone to respond. Yet as nothing seemed to happen, he quickly laid it back down as well.

"Still no connection?" Chloe half asked while leaning back against the wall and folding her arms in front of her.

Drake shook his head slowly. "I don't get it, the phone should work even in this location. Even the captain said that they have trouble sending out hails to other ships and harbors. They try to get communication back on, but that could take days. Until then, we can't get into contact with Charlie and the others."

Yet the Australian woman smirked as she someone realized what it really was that her partner tried to do. "You're not so much trying to reach Charlie as much as Elena?" She half asked and half exclaimed at once realizing that the American was blushing.

Nathan thought for a moment as he tried to concentrate his thoughts. He quickly reached his journal and moved through the pages until he reached a page in the beginning. It showed him and Elena posing in front of a mountainside in the middle of the Himalaya. Drake remembered that day, it was right after they escaped Shambala. "Even back then, I didn't want to live a life that was leaving this whole treasure hunting level behind."

Chloe listened closely seeing how Nathan got completely sentimental out of the sudden. "Now that I think back to what happened in India, I got the feeling that I have more to lose than to gain in these adventures." He added which made Chloe smile even more.

"Now you start talking like a family man." Nathan raised his eyebrows a little bit and even let out a small cough. "Then again, maybe that's what makes you a bit more responsible this time around. And maybe not make a mess out of things." She said with a wink which caught the American by surprise.

"ME!? I am completely responsible and careful. It's just that my plans don't often match up with the creativity set into." The statement made both of them laugh out loud before they both laid down to get a good portion of sleep.

What both of them didn't know was that someone was eavesdropping on them while trying his best to not be seen. Chris leaned against the iron door on the outside hearing the conversation over the missing communication. Chris smiled t himself as he slowly walked through the weakly lid corridors. Over various stairs and ladders, he finally reached the com and entered.

Various, dim lights coming from the instruments showed the only lights in the still rough and stormy night. Chris entered as he gave a short wink to the captain. "We've prepared everything." He said pointing to the small phone at the edge of the huge control console.

The Canadian grabbed the device before speaking. "I'm here!" He answered quickly waiting for the voice on the other end to respond. "Yes I am… not everything went according to plan…" he waited for the other one to finish. "No… they don't suspect a thing… Yes… I am aware that I have been giving a certain time limit… that won't be necessary… Drake is not that much of a problem… without him, I wouldn't be as far as I am."

There was another pause for a certain time and Chris began to rub the back of his head. "I am aware who I get paid to work for… but I… I understand." He stopped and put the phone back into the console.

His eyes met the ones of the captain and he quickly rubbed his eyes in frustration. "That really didn't went well." He remarked before he began leaving the room again.

* * *

**Province Kandahar, Southern Afghanistan **

For years, southern Afghanistan, along with the rest of the country, had been ruled by the Taliban and their allies. During that period, the population of the country had to live in fear and tyranny. Some could argue that this has not changed ever since the US military and the ISAF forces had brought their regime to an end. And even since then, the Taliban had not been completely gone from the surface.

But there was one thing for certain; the Afghans were split into two fractions. The one that support the foreign forces and their proclaimed combat for democracy, and the ones that find their presence still a threat to their freedom.

All of that made Afghanistan one of the most dangerous countries to travel in. Governments strictly laid off from people to travel there since rescue missions were difficult and had a little chance of success. Yet Elena Fisher-Drake was someone that wasn't really frightened by such things.

She had been working as a correspondent in Yemen, a country that is known for on one hand being really beautiful, but on the other hand really dangerous. But there was a difference between working inside the city of Sanaa and working in the outside nearly desert like area of Kandahar.

The day was just as sunny and windy as it usually got in this part of the world. The heat and the dry air was nearly unbearable, and the sand that got blown everywhere was getting through every small space. Elena had prepared and brought a scarf with her that she could bring in front of her face when it got too much. She also wore a light grey button up shirt in combination with her usual khaki trousers.

Along her side stood two other men, one of them was Josh carrying a grey outdoor vest along with the same type of trousers and an almost white shirt. In his hand, he held a small camera only for photographs. The other man was in his forties having the same type of gear with him but only carrying a clipboard where he took notes on.

Elena kneeled down on the ground as she took a look at some spare plants that simply lied in the dirt without anything holding on to it. "You see this, this must have dropped down from their truck." She said out loud as she held the thing up and placed into one of her notebooks.

"You sure?" The older man asked staring into the distance and putting his sunglasses back on. "That stuff could have come from any kind of truck. Or maybe it was just a mule that lost it from its sacks. Anyway, we should get back to the others before we lose the lead on the convoy."

Though Elena didn't really believe that, she made a fist and rubbed the dirt of her hand before getting back up and following the other back towards a small jeep parked not far away from them. In the distance, she could see the other vehicles in the convoy that the three travelled with.

They got back in and Josh began driving the jeep back into line. All while driving, Elena had her hand to her chin while staring out of the window. "It's really interesting. The Taliban forbid the opium dealing when they were on the power. Back then it was nearly down to being nullified. But ever since the international forces took over, the numbers for production and trading had been going through the roof. And all of that under the leadership of the US Troops and the ISAF forces."

Both Josh and the third one listened in on her. It was no secret that at some point, the US Military actually tolerated the production of opium in the mountains of Afghanistan. There were far too many plants in the country as if to think that there was no one that wasn't alright with it. And of course, no one in the Army of the government wanted to say out loud that they where okay with this.

"I believe in that, but then again we are here to make a report on the life conditions under the hood of the Canadian and American military. We are not here to hunt after big opium dealers. Those guys are just out of our league." The elder one said while starting to photograph some of the hills on the outside.

_Out of our league! _Elena thought about that statement for a short moment. She knew all too well what it meant to go after some of the most dangerous man in the world alone and with no back up. The last time, she tried to pull something like that, she nearly got blown off by a hand grenade. And the time before, she barely survived a helicopter crash. And for some part, she could share the feeling of her friends not having the desire to get into a similar adventure.

Speaking of past adventures, she slowly brought out her cell phone as she checked if there have been any calls for her. Yet her display showed none this far, she didn't expect to have one at this point since she knew how Nathan could get when he was in one of his moods. But then again, she knew that Nathan would try to find a way to contact her.

She stored the phone back into her pocket before bringing out the picture of her and Nate posing in front the Himalaya. A smile appeared on her face as she began to wonder how nathan and the others were doing on the other side of the Hindu Kush.

* * *

**Strait of Malacca, between Sumatra and Singapore**

The Strait of Malacca was the third most important street for international trading alongside the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal. 20-25& of the international trading ships travelled through this narrow water street in order to get from the south Chinese sea into the Indian ocean.

The pacific blitz kept moving through the narrow road that was connecting the Indian ocean with the south Chinese sea. The day was cloudless and the humidity was nearly unbearable. Ever since the strait had begun to be used, the ships passing through had been targeted by pirates. And that meant for the crew to be completely on their edges.

Nathan stood on the edge of the boat staring over the balustrade and onto the coast of the island Sumatra. H had his hand resting on the steel pipe as for the first time in days, e really could enjoy the view. Ever since he boarded the ship, the American kept working on the journals that he obtained in India. Yet constantly staying under deck was not really productive for his mood. That and the fact that he had no idea how Charlie was doing at all.

"How you're doing?"

He turned around and saw Chris Cortina walking over to him with a relaxed but anxious expression on his face. "For now, I feel my face stopping from hurting by now. What about you?" He replied rubbing the bottom of his chin.

"Nothing I can't handle." Cortina stared around before looking down on the bandages around his hand again. He noticed that Nathan still had the satellite phone inside his hand and he tried hard to not smirk at the fact that his 'partner' must be still trying to find a connection to the outside. "That thing with the radio and the satellites really sucks." He gave away and Nate noticed where the Canadian was getting at.

He quickly threw the phone in the air before catching it once again with his hand. "Off all the ships we could have taken to get east, we get the one with the malfunctioning communication system. He laughed and then turned around to walk back down the deck.

Out of the corner, he saw one of the crew members stepping past him and walking up the com as he gave the captain a very suspicious look. Normally, nathan wouldn't have cared if it wouldn't have been for the rest of the crew on top the boat to suddenly fall into hectic and preparing themselves from something.

"What the…?" He started as he saw the behavior of the people change. Drake then quickly turned around to face Chris who caught that as well.

The mercenary stared around a bit nervous and quickly padded Nate on the back. "We should get back down again." He urged and threw a glance back up where he could see the captain standing in the open and strangely… talking into a radio.

It was something that Nathan also noted and quickly stared up. "Wait… isn't he…?"

But again, he got shoved down the corridor with Chris urging him further. "Come on, who knows what is going on here." He continued to calm Nathan down as fast as possible. +

As the duo entered the room where Chloe kept waiting, she immediately realized that something was on in that moment. "What happened to you two?" She quickly asked with Chris glancing back and forth from both her and Nathan.

"This place is crowded with pirates. I don't know if that's the case here but… without communication we have to be as careful as possible. I better get this checked as soon as possible. Just stay here for the moment." He added and without throwing them another glance, walked out.

Right after he was gone, Nathan rushed over to his bag and without thinking twice, pulled out the gun that brought with him out of India.

"Why do I get the feeling that our little cruise here is over?" She called our right away and realized that the American treasure hunter was extremely tensed.

Nathan didn't respond right away and simply checked if there were bullets in the mag. "Remember what I told you about that whole trusting thing days ago?" He half asked and half made clear that there was something fishy that he was about to tell Chloe. "Well turns out that there really is someone that we should be careful about if we should trust him."

Not sure if it was true, but having a slight idea, Chloe walked over to her bag as well and drew her gun. "I knew that this guy meant trouble from the minute we got in contact with him." She bursted out and checked her weapon as well.

"I don't want you to jump to any conclusion right now, I don't know how much he is involved in this. But either he lied about us about the communication… or he was as fooled as we are. However, I know now that Chris has something to hide." While he said those things out loud, he extracted his arms to the side in a questioning way.

After putting on his harness around his upper body, Nathan began storing the journals and the other stuff into a small bag ready to leave the ship the moment they got into trouble. Chloe followed his lead and stored her own stuff into another bag.

After that, Nate led the way out of the room into the corridor. As they went further through the ship and moved up to the deck and the com, Nathan and Chloe could see the crew members running around hectically. Their gazes wandered from side to side trying to make out what was going on. Seconds later, they stepped out onto the top of the deck and were greeted by the bright sunlight.

Nate stared to the side and spotted another part of the crew cowering behind the balustrade and having a pair of machine guns, as well as an RPG drawn as the ship had taken course towards a freighter in the distance. "They're not doing this to prevent pirate attacks. They are pirates themselves." Nate exclaimed.

To his side, Chloe saw that as well and started to draw her weapon right away. But before she could point at the group on the deck, Nathan pulled a hand in front of him to calm her down. "Not yet!" He added and both of them stepped back down from the deck.

Slowly, they walked around a corner as they saw the ladder that led up to the con. Nathan quickly turned towards Chloe grabbing her on the shoulders. "We have to get off this ship. Go see if you can find something to get off." He ordered before he turned around and walked upwards the ladder.

The moment he was at the top, he could hear voices from inside which he indicated as the Canadian mercenary and the captain of the ship. Drake listened in as his Cortina's words reached his ears. "I told you… I told you numerous times to leave it be… at least this time."

Drake got more and more interested and angry in what was going on. "You know who I work for, and you know how important those two are in obtaining my goal. I pay you good money to get us through these waters, and you start to ruin with my plans." Cortina brought his face closer to the captain before speaking out again. "You need to know where your place is."

"I know very well where my place is Mr. Cortina. But this is my ship… and you are just as well a passenger as the Americans are."

Drake could feel how the tension inside the room got more and more hostile. Chris's hands shivered even more as he got even more angry. "It would have been perfect, we could have made it to Mactan in no time and I would have been as close to my goal as I have ever been. But thanks to your, Drake and his partners are no longer willing to trust me, He knows that there is something fishy going on here."

That was enough for Nathan, he pulled his gun and stepped through the doorway to the inside. "Hello gentlemen!" He called raising his gun and aiming at the duo. The Canadian was just as shocked and surprised as the captain as they stared directly into the gun.

"Oh well… uhm… Drake!?"

"Save it!" Nathan snapped with an angry voice. "What are you trying to pull here?" I trusted you back in India and when I let you bring us along on this cruise ship. And all of that to find out that you are using us after all!?" He stepped closer with his gun held higher while the Canadian mercenary raised his hands.

"Drake… don't be stupid. What do you think is going to happen if you shoot both of us?" He said and Nathan knew that he had a point.

But then again, lowering his weapon and in some way giving in was not an option either anymore. "You tell me! You really made us travel along with pirates?" he then turned his attention back onto the captain. "What are you doing to that ship over there?" he glared and pointed at the crew beginning to show their weapons.

"I am just as pissed off as you are. We are on the same side here!" Chris went seeing how he may had a chance to get back out of this after all.

Nathan wanted to laugh out loud as he heard that. "And that's why you probably lied about the communication not working. I saw Blackbeard here making a call to someone per phone." He was losing his patience again. "Now cut the crap Chris, who are you really working for?" He threatened him and the two North Americans stared deep into each other's eyes.

That was the chance that the captain waited for himself. Before any of the north Americans could say anything, he had drawn a weapon and directed it directly towards them switching sides from time to time. "I don't know what is going on here… but nobody points a gun at me on my ship."

Out of the sudden, gunfire appeared from the outside and all three stared to the side. Seeing his opportunity. The captain tried to fire but got its weapon swept away from Drake. At once, Chris got in and grabbed the arm of Drake as his gun flew back down.

By that time, the captain ran through the opening and left the other two fighting with each other. Chris gave Nate a headbutt which made him tumble backwards into a control panel before he stared up at the mercenary. He got right back up grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and rammed his knee into the Chris's side.

But the Canadian simply shoved him back and gave him a few quick strikes on the face before kicking him on the chest and sending Nathan agin into one of the controls. As he tumbled to the ground, Nate ripped a few cabled and piped from the wall as sparks flew from various panels.

He stared up and saw Cortina standing in a martial arts fighting style and smirking at him. It wasn't so much arrogance than confidence that spoke out of him. "Come on Drake! I am trained in various martial arts styles, how in the world do you think you can compete with me?"

Nathan clenched his teeth and grabbed the pipe lying at his side. "Just the way I always do… I improvise." Just before Cortina could come down on him, Drake brought the pipe up and hammered it flatly against the Canadians chest.

He tumbled backwards and Nathan threw himself at him again. Both tried to throw each other through the room while the fight and the gunfire on the outside kept going on. Both north Americans bumped into a control panel as they both stared through the window down on the deck of the boat.

The captain stood in the middle of the deck and pointed his finger toward Nathan and Chris as his: Both knew immediately that there was nothing good for them to come from below. While few of them began running with their machine guns drawn, another one pulled out an RPG from the side and pointed it at the cabin as well.

Chris and Nate stared at each other and their eyes grew wide. "What in the…" Both called and right away jumped on top of the controls before jumping through the window just as the pirate fired the rocket at them. The cabin behind them exploded and the two sailed down to the ground.

Down below, they landed on a large wooden box with a blue plain on top which assured that they landed soft. Chris was the first to tumbled out of it as he saw several of the pirates aiming and firing at them. The mercenary quickly rolled to the side as he gave a few kicks to a man at his side before picking up his Kal and firing back.

Up ahead, Nathan tried to raise his head but quickly brought it down with the bullets flying over it. The flames from the cabin above him got higher and higher. Nathan stared around and found the captain smacking the one with the PRG across the head and screaming at him with fury.

_Seems like blowing up his boat wasn't that smart._ That was the chance he needed as he rolled down from the box and punching one of the pirates in the face and grabbing his rifle. Drake immediately fired at them as he hit one across the chest and forcing him to fly backwards.

Up to the side, he saw Cortina firing back as well while loud cracking came from above and the cabin still burning. Screams and hectically movements filled the air and Nathan quickly changed his position as a salve from an AK-47 destroyed the wooden box at his side. He kept firing ahead as but tried his best to save as much ammo as possible.

The screams of the captain got louder as he instructed his men to kill him and the other one. At this point, Nathan didn't care about Cortina shooting at the pirates himself, he just needed to get out of here.

Up ahead, he saw a little neuter that held a small amount of sandbags on a roof. The edge of his muzzle went upwards a little bit and he quickly pointed his KAL into its direction before firing. The neuter cracked open and the sandbags dropped down on about three pirates who fell to the ground and went unconscious.

Drake let out a small call of joy before running and changing his position again. "Why do I keep getting sucked into this things." He said to himself frustrated and reloaded the gun with spare mags on the ground. Yet he knew that the pirates were getting to him sooner or later: it was just a matter of time. He saw one of them coming down his right and opened fire hitting him directly on the chest.

_Where the hell is Chloe?_ He asked himself knowing that the Australian woman knew as well what was going on. He had barely finished that thought as the floor of the deck began to erupt and a huge explosion threw each one of the pirates and their enemies through the air on their backs.

_There she is!_ Nathan thought through the pain and with the beginning of a smile.

* * *

**Author's note: **Another little exclaimer. I am not here to make a political statement about the war in Afghanistan or the Iraq. I am just trying to write an entertaining and fun story. If anybody feels offended by the fact that I include that war in this story, I deeply apologize.


	6. Searching for trouble and the treasure

Hi there again!

I am posting this Chapter a bit eralier than what I usually do sicne I got night shift this week and have to sart from Sunday to Monday which makes it impossible to post the Chapter Sunday night.

And now... have fun reading.

* * *

**- 6 -**

Searching for trouble… and the treasure

* * *

Smoke came out from the belly of the Pacific Blitz right after the what seemed to be the engine blew up and brought the ship completely to a halt. Nathan was back out of cover as he saw the pirates that were firing at him previously were now just as unarmed as him.

The American went ahead and grabbed the rifle one of them was about to grab before punching directly in the face. The man fell to the back directly against the low wall of the ship and falling unconscious. Another explosion appeared and Nathan along with some others tumbled to the side before falling on their knees.

His gaze wandered to the side and he found Chloe running into the open as with her gun in her hand and running over the deck. He then stared to the other side of the place where Chris was holding his head. Blood tripled down from the top of his head and his face along with his arms was covered in dirt.

"COME ON NATE!" Drake then heard the Australian woman call glaring back to her and seeing her working on some of the life boats.

Fire broke out on the ship and in that moment everyone knew that there was no chance in saving it. The other ship that was about to be attacked by the pirates was long gone and probably called the authorities by that point. And quite frankly, Nathan didn't want to find out as he stormed over the deck getting to his friend right before getting knocked down from the side.

He stared up and looked directly into the eyes of the captain staring at him and holding another steel pipe in his hands. His face was covers with dirt and ash right along his burned eyebrows as he probably took a good dose of the explosion.

He was about to bring it down on Drake right as another explosion took off and the boat began to go to the side. Nathan was quicker on the draw and kicked the captain in a very nasty area before taking the pipe out of his hand, elbowing him in the head and bringing the weapon down on his back.

After dropping the weapon to the ground, he continued his sprint across the deck just in time before the another two pirates got hold of their rifles again. They started firning and Nathan quickly slid behind a wooden box that had fallen off from above.

Chloe realized that two and grabbed her gun shooting herself. One of the bullets hit an attacker right in the head and he dropped to the ground dead within seconds. Nate took that chance and climbed above the edge and now stood in the middle. "How in the world did you blow this thing off?" He asked under exhaustion and with a heavy breath.

"They are pirates after all, I figured that they would have _some _kind of explosives down there." Chloe replied with her arms extracted just in time to let them both down from the burning ship.

"DRAKE!" Someone called and both turned their heads to the side as they found Cortina staring at them with a drawn weapon. The two stared at each other through tired eyes and heavy breaths. The fire was still going and small explosions still happened with the tanks getting in contact with the fire.

Cortina didn't say any word and just moved forward with a stern face. "Don't leave me here!" He simply said finally and let his gun drop a little bit. Right behind them, Chloe wanted to say something which basically was to tell Nate to keep going and leave him be.

But Nathan couldn't was the first as he signaled with his hands towards the Canadian to walk over. "Alright!" he said but still showed no sign of compassion towards the mercenary. Chris began walking towards them as th sound of another shot filled the air and Nathan heard and felt a bullet passing his ear by only inches. Right after that, Cortina fell to the ground holding his shoulder as a crimson liquid came out of it.

After that, Drake stared upwards as the Captain was back on his feet and held his pistol back into the direction of the American and the Australian. Drake right away, dove down hiding behind the side wall of the boat before Chloe pulled out what seemed like trigger.

"What is that?" Nathan asked right away waiting for the bullets to pass through the lifeboat and his body.

"My last present for these guys." With these words, she pressed the button and after that… hell broke loose again. Another giant explosion and red and yellow fireball came from the ship as the treasure hunter duo had brought down the lifeboat on the surface.

The shockwave and the eruption made it nearly impossible for Chloe to hold it steady. But after a few seconds, they were far away from the ship so that they could get to the nearest island with ease. Nathan stared at the sinking and burning ship as he thought about how their plan on getting to Mactan had come to yet another halt.

And in some way, his thoughts drifted off to Chris Cortina and if he was really a bad guy in the end or if he was just mistaken with his intentions. But it was too late from him now. There was no chance for him to get out of that alive. "That was a nice boat trip!" He heard Chloe say in sarcasm after him while and Drake turned around to her.

"Did you really have to blow up the whole ship?" Nathan asked sitting down and breathing in for a little while.

"I hate to be the passenger on a pirate ship."

Drake rolled his eyes and rubbed the side of his head. "But now we have to find another way to get to Charlie fast. We have to get to a harbor fast and fins a ship that brings us to Mactan… and that is not steered by pirates." The sun was still burning down on them as Chloe turned on the motor of the lifeboat as they began driving across the waters of the Malaccan Strait towards an island in the distance.

* * *

**Province Kandahar, Southern Afghanistan **

Elena and her team were still driving through the desert outside the city of Kandahar. The convoy of vehicles was made out of about six cars. Each one of them was the same type of jeep with mostly journalist and a local that would translate for them. Then there were two of them which were filled with armed men that were set to protect the group from outside threats.

Every few moments, Elena kept glancing at her satellite phone and waited for any kind of message from Nathan and the others. By now, she had gotten right beyond nervous, she was downright scared. By now, she would have heard from Nate or at least Sully having heard about Nate. But there was nothing that came out to her.

The dusty and rocky landscape of the country around her did not change by any second, it was still that wide grey and yellow area that enclosed them for miles. Elena laid her head back as she closed her eyes for a moment and thought about the things that were about to come for her.

Yet out of the sudden, a loud blast filled her ears and she got right back into s straight position as Josh and her other partner stared at each other with shock. The fourth man in the car, took his assault rifle and as he opened the door. "Don't leave the car!" He commanded and stepped out of the vehicle.

Right away, Elena rubbed some dirt from the window and tried to get a glimpse of what was going on outside. There was a cloud of dust not far away from their convoy which indicated the detonation of a land mine. She tried to look a bit more as another blast appeared and which made one of the vehicles in the convoy blow up in front of them.

"It's an ambush!" The older one said and the blonde haired woman didn't think twice before pulling out a gun from underneath her seat.

On the outside, the soldiers kept moving around the cars directing their rifles to the outer sides of some dunes. Gunfire appeared through the small canyon in which the convoy kept travelling. Since the first car got blown up, there was no chance of getting out through the front.

"We have to get out of here!" The one in charge called as he tried to command his troops from the spot. One of the soldiers stepped in the front of a car as fast as he could and began moving it backwards. But that was when another explosion appeared and buried the vehicle underneath some rubble that came from the wall of the canyon.

They were trapped and Elena knew that from the beginning. There was nothing to gain by staying in the car. Quickly, she opened the door and stepped outside followed by the shocked glances of her colleges.

It didn't take a seconds before one of the soldiers grabbed her and pulled her right behind a rock. "Are you nuts, it is dangerous out here." He yelled at her and kept firing from his rifle at anything that was coming his way.

That was when Elena saw the figures appearing on the peaks of the dunes to their left. They sure looked like locals yet their movements didn't really resemble them that well. They were way too much organized and prepared. Just as if they were attacking the convoy for a certain purpose. And that made her even more scared.

"CONCENTRATE YOUR FIRE ON THE LEFT!" The commander yelled fighting with his voice against the noise around them. None of the soldiers saw the man appearing on the side with the RPG as he aimed for two of the protectors.

Elena caught that and her eyes grew wide right away. "WATCH OUT!" She screamed to warn them.

But it was too late, the rocket hit the wall behind them and the two soldiers flew in every direction being dead on the spot. By now, the journalist knew that there was barely a way out of this situation and she quickly. Hurried back to the door, she quickly knocked on the door and opened it. "We have to get out of here!" She called and Josh as well as the other one got right out of the vehicle.

Elena found a pair of rifles on the ground and handed them over to her friends as she searched for an exit. Bullets flew everywhere and all three of them tried to be as careful as possible. After an eternity, she found the exit she had been waiting for. The attackers and the defenders were so occupied with their fire that they did not really concentrate on a small sideway over a dune between the rocky walls.

Without thinking twice, Elena was the first to run straight for the opening that was their only chance. The others were right behind her and she stared back looking out for any hostiles coming from the side. Her feet kept sinking into the sand and she began to trip a few ties yet recovered.

After seconds, Josh was already to head to head with her on the run. And that was when one of the attackers came jumping from the side and tackled Elena's cameraman. The two fell to the ground and rolled over the sand for a while until the afghan landed on top and pressed his rifle on his throat.

Josh was unable to get the man off him if it wouldn't have been for Elena hammering the end of the pistol grip in his back. Another one came from the side and tackled the blonde haired woman who dropped to the ground. The third man tried to get in between when the Afghan turned around and pointed his rifle at him before fire.

"NO!" Elena shouted out as their friend dropped to the ground blood coming out from his stomach. Even Josh was shocked and was unable to move as the attacker turned around and directed his gun at the cameraman.

He already saw his life ending when another sound of a gun appeared and the Afghan dropped to the ground and he twirled around to find Elena standing with her gun still pointing at the man. Again, Josh stared at her with open mouth before Elena stored the gun in her pants. "Come on Josh!" She called as she was about to turn around.

In the same second, another couple of explosion made the sand fly through the air around the fight scene and caused anyone standing to fly through the air and fall to the ground. Elena and Josh focused their gazes on the scenery with both of them staring in horror.

But that was only for a short moment as Josh turned to the side again and barely could see another one coming towards his boss. "Watch out Elena!"

Right in that moment, she turned around and glared directly into the eyes of another Afghan as he raised his hands and rammed the end of a rifle into her side and forced her to drop to the ground within an instant and being completely unconscious.

* * *

One thing was certain, getting off n exploding and burning boat that was once filled with pirates in the middle of nowhere and finding back into civilization wasn't easy. Drake and Chloe knew that by now. But then again, the duo of treasure hunters somehow managed to do that.

Together with a local travelling ship, they arrived in the harbor of Cebu City. Although, their departure outside of India wasn't really that official, the circumstances of which they were found by the authorities made it a bit easier to at least get inside the Philippine countryside.

Cebu City, just like a lot of cities in South East Asia showed big opposites in their design and tone. On one side, there were plays that still looked like they had been for decades and centuries. But on the other side, there were numerous new apartment and office buildings that built the giant contrast of the city. And of course, there were all these hotel and apartment resorts made for tourists which was still one of the biggest income sources of the economy.

Nate and Chloe sat together in a small office in the harbor direction. Though they were not here as prisoners or being arrested, there were still a lot of questions to be answered from the authorities. None of the two said anything as they just kept waiting in the office for something to happen.

Of course, the ambassadors of both their countries had been contacted the moment Nathan and Chloe set foot in the building. But it was still taking time for the instances to take action and to verify things.

The door to the small office opened and a stern looking man with a light grey suit entered. He had a western look and stepped over to the table which the two sat aside and dropped two passports. "Alright Mr… Drake, we have cleaned everything up. You are free to go… but please keep it down and don't cause any trouble out there.

Though the two were a bit surprised by how relaxed the man looked, they could tell that he mean the words he kept saying. They might have avoided jail, but they were still here under reservation. But Nathan didn't think twice and he got up from his table before reaching at his passport. He was about to pick it up as the man held on to it and put his mouth closer to Nate's ear.

"I heard about you Mr. Drake, please don't make me regret this." He said and Nathan gave him a glare of disbelieve and confusion.

As they stepped out of the office, they found themselves staring on a street with several office building on the other side. Some cars were parked in front and waited for people to come out of the building and get them. Leaning with his back against one of them, they found a familiar face looking back up at them. "Welcome!" Charlie called with his arms folded in front of him.

The sun shined down on the street as Chloe stared up into it and held her hand in front of her face. They walked over to the English man as Nate tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Charlie how ya doin?" he replied in a relaxed town as if he was picking them up from a flight at the airport.

Cutter put on a pair of sunglasses as he stepped into a white Subaru with various bumps and bruises on the outside. "I hope that you had a nice trip." He said as he seemed to be unaware of all the things they had experienced on their trip to India.

"It was… refreshing!" Chloe remarked a with a sound of irony before getting into the back seat.

Nathan stared around the vehicle as he placed himself on the passenger's seat. "Nice car! I kinda… like the old touch, how much did you pay for this old thing?" He asked leaning back as Charlie loosened the hand brake and stepped on the pedal.

Chloe and Drake were pushed back into their seat as Charlie kept driving through the streets like Andretti in his prime. "This old thing is only a week old, these guys are driving like on a destruction derby. I call it the street thrilla from Manila." Charlie sat as he hit the horn of the car as they drove right through a group of motorcycles moving left and right.

Every few seconds, Nathan shifted himself nervously on the seat as he thought about what house they were going to break into once he lost control of the Subaru. "Would you mind, keeping it down Charlie. We're not driving the Indy 500." He complained and realized that the Englishman was kinda enjoying it.

"Can't lad. You can't show them that you are weak or they gonna eat you alive out here." He said and kept driving through the city. After what felt like an eternity to the American and the Australian, the trio finally arrived right in front of a beautiful looking white building which was supposed to be their hotel for their time on the island.

Drake was the first to step out and stare at the building in front of him, his gaze shifted to the left where he watched a group of palm trees moving in the wind. To the right, he saw the huge sign showing. 'Traveller's star Hotel' and he also saw the five golden stars hanging on it.

"You got to be kidding me? We worked our butts off in the middle of Cochin in a small apartment under the radar… and you have been living here in luxury all this time." Drake half asked and half remarked with a mocking and upset tone.

Once again, Charlie shrugged his shoulder and went ahead walking through the main entrance and right on the reception. It took only a few moments before Nathan had the hand on the key Card to his and Charlie's room as well as Chloe having her own. The sun was standing high and the humidity was really intense.

Together, they walked around the area of the hotel as they stared at the various trees and green fields which gave the whole thing a nice and luxury look. Drake was a bit in the back as he had his head directed on a cell phone in his hand. He pressed some of his buttons as he checked if he had any Mails from Elena and Sully.

He very quickly realized that there were none from either one of them, he dialed the number of Elena's satellite phone. And even though this was a bit outside of the regular telephoning services, he only got the robotic voice telling him that the number is temporarily not available. Nate shut down the phone and the worried folds on his forehead only got bigger and bigger.

"So Charlie, what have you found out by now?" Chloe asked in front as they stopped in front of a white and cream colored cabin being their apartment. Charlie changed turned the keys to unlock the door and the trio stepped in and dropping their bags on the couch within an instant.

The Englishman sat down in an armchair and stared down on various maps and information prospects on the table. "Well uhm… so far… nothing that could help us." He said and Drake as well as Chloe stopped dead on the spot.

The American was the first to face his friend and right away walked over to him. "Nothing?! What do you mean nothing? We busted our asses back in India, while you've been taking some vacation… and you have to come out with is to say… nothing." Nathan was furious and the events developing. "We went through hell over the last weeks." He added before sitting down on the couch.

"I have NOT… been on vacation." Charlie remarked with a slight shaking of his head. "But I searched the whole island and found exactly zip. Cebu City isn't that big, the island isn't that big itself. And I searched the memorial of Magellan itself, hours after hours. And I found nothing." Charlie replied in his defense bringing his hands together on the table and leaning forward. "By the way, I don't even know what we are looking for here."

For a short moment, Nathan was even more angry and he was short of bursting out in anger once again. But then again, he forgot that he didn't even contacted Charlie once since they sat course for India and only called him to pick them up from the harbor directory. "Alright, then we have to start from scrap here." He said and leaned forward as well as spreading out his research over the table.

"Alright Charlie… here's the deal."

* * *

Taylor Lawrence stood in a small room with his hands held behind his back and standing completely motionless on his spot. Only once in a while, he pulled out his left arm and stared at the watch around his wrist. The room itself was only lit by a small light handing from the ceiling and directly above a small wooden chair. The chair was the only part of furniture that was inside the room.

Again, he glanced at the timer and then back to the iron door on the opposite side of the room. He began to grow impatient and tried to work against that by walking around the chair a little bit.

But that was when he heard noise coming from outside the room and a few seconds later, found the door swinging open with two men dragging a third person into the room. The one in the middle was a bit smaller than the two wearing black jump suits with combat boots.

The person in the middle had a black bag around its head as it got dropped onto the chair and then sit without moving the head left and right but hanging down to the front. Its hands were cuffed together behind the back and it let its shoulders hang down due to a little grogginess.

Lawrence waited for a short moment as he gave the signal for the other two to position themselves on the wall with folded arms. "After he gave them a sign to keep an eye open, he removed the bag and revealed the faces of a blonde haired woman. She slowly began moving her head as she tried opening her eyes.

Elena had no idea where she was as she began to get a glimpse of her surroundings. Her first glance fell on the two men standing against the wall before her eyes fell on Lawrence staring at her.

"Mrs. Drake I presume!" He said and grabbed another chair out from the dark corner of the room. "I really was anxious to meet you." He said with a faked gentle voice while he placed the chair right in front of her and sat down.

For the first time in a while, Nathan's wife was fully aware of what was going on as she responded. "Depends on what you want." She replied with a cold and upset tone eyeing the man in front of her sharply. "What is going on here?" She continued to ask with the bearded man leaning back in his own chair.

"I have to say that usually, I don't like to fall back on methods like this… but your husband has made things a bit… _rocky _for me so that I have to rely on more intense methods to make him cooperate." He said throwing one leg above the other and resting his hands on them.

It was in that moment that she realized who she was sitting in front of. "I know you, you are the guy from the museum in Portugal." She remarked and Lawrence began to grin.

The door opened and another man with short blonde hair and a pair of glasses entered the room an brought a tablet with a few cups inside. One of the men at the wall grabbed a chair and placed right between the two chairs as the newcomer placed the tablet on top of it.

"I am flattered that you recognize me." Taylor replied to Elena and gave grabbed one of the cups. "I would prefer for you to address me with Mr. Lawrence, or Taylor if you please." He replied in a slimy way before taking a sip from the cup. "

Elena rolled her eyes and tilted her head to the side. "Thanks… but no thanks!" She replied then sharply but trying to keep her eyes on the man in front of her. Right now she seemed to get the idea of what was going on here and why she and her friends got ambushed in Afghanistan.

The only thing that surprised her was that none of the other bad guys Nathan got in contact over the years tried something different. But then again, the two had broken up because of the possibilities of those things on multiple times. "What happened to the others?" She asked as he mood shifted from anger and upsetness towards worry and sorrow for what could have possibly happened to Josh and their friend.

"They are alright!" Lawrence answered quickly putting two pieces of sugar into his cup before moving a spoon through the liquid inside. "My employees had order to get you and leave your friends unharmed. However, it was impossible to leave all the soldiers and security forces alive. That's quite a nasty side effect when it comes to our business."

Right away, she couldn't stand the sly and smock voice of the man holding her captive. Lawrence put the cup away and then turned his full attention back on the blonde woman. "Mrs. Drake! By now, I guess you know why you are here and we want to do with you." Lawrence said and waited for her reply while he kept sitting with one of his legs lying above the other.

A weak but amused expression grew on Elena's face. Oh she could tell, and though she was a bit afraid of what was going to happen to her, she was willing not to show any of it. "I presume that my husband has spoiled your plans up to the part where you have become so desperate that you reduce yourself to kidnappers." She replied in the same mocking type that the man in front of her had done.

"Exactly!" The suited man said while Lawrence pulled out a handkerchief and began cleaning his nose. "Since we are looking for one of the most powerful and valuable things in the world. I can't risk of some thrill seeking Yankee to screw me over with my plans."

Within seconds, the fake kindness in his voice had vanished and he formed harsh words as he put the handkerchief back in his pocket. "And you know what…" He got to his feet and raised his hand before slapping Elena across the hand with the back of it. "I am sick of him and his friends interfering with my business. And you mocking me, you will be my key in finding Timongrung."

While Elena recovered from the slap and moved her head back forward with a pain struck face. Lawrence had sat back down and stared at her. "And for your own sake, and the one of Mr. Drake, I hope that you will be more compliant than your husband."

Elena suppressed her pain and simply stared into the bearded man's eyes before grinning again. "Keep dreaming Cowboy!" She called and with a fast motion, kicked the table containing the two cups with her cuffed legs. The furniture flew at Lawrence and the liquid inside the cups flew and directly on the trousers of the man.

At once, Taylor flew backwards as he threw his chair over. He landed on his back but quickly got up to his feet as he now saw his pants being completely drained with what looked like tea. An angry grunt escaped his muzzle and he quickly snipped his fingers ordering one of the guards hold Elena back on the chair.

With an angry glare, walked right up to her and slapped her numerous times from left to right. "You may not like to admit, but right now… I am the only one that can decide if you are going to live or not. And you better remember that…" He grabbed her chin and stared directly into the hate filled eyes of the blonde woman. "And you just wasted your last chance of getting along with me."

Lawrence didn't even waste another moment before he walked out of the room and shut the door close right after him. On the outside was Chen who kept waiting for him while leaning against a wall and with his arms folded. The American stopped and pressed his hands into his hips. "By god what a family. Not to imagine what their child might turn out."

"You should have left her to me. I know how to make people talk." Chen said as he followed the other one through the corridor.

But he wasn't even finished with his response as Lawrence turned back around to him. "To make people talk? What was she supposed t talk about… the weather?" He said and waived his hands in front in surrender. "You know… you are really starting to get on my nerves." The continued to walk yet Lawrence still wasn't finished. "And besides, I already did put someone on your watch and you blew it!"

He ignored the growl that escaped the Asian man as he walked on. "Right now, Drake and his friends must have reached their destination. We are going there two. And we take her with us." They stopped as they reached another door. "We let Drake find the location of Tirmongrung for us, and then we take it from him."

Without another word, Lawrence stepped through the door and left Chen behind.

* * *

"And here we are!" Charlie called as he along with Nathan and Chloe entered a hall that belonged to the University of San Carlos museum which was located in the middle of Cebu city. The building was a long and big hall colored in yellow stone with dark green outlines for the huge windows that were placed along the walls.

A number of Cars stood along the sidewalk parked in front of the museum. Nathan and Charlie removed their sunglasses as they walked right up to the porter desk in the main hall. Nathan leaned his arm on the desk and began speaking. "¡Perdòn! Busco el sector de la historía alguien los pueblos Asia irrescateble."

The porter stood up from his chair and pointed with his finger and his pencil down their left corridor. "Este en el corridor Segundo a la izquierda. Vas por una minuta y toma la corridor a la derecha." He replied and Nathan stared after the signs the man made.

"¡Gracias!" nate said and the three walked down the corridor into the direction the man gave them. "And you are sure that we find something useful here?" he asked then to the side towards the English man.

Cutter pulled out a small diary and went ahead through the pages. "Look mate, you said we are looking for a city called Thimongrung, built by an old civilization called the Tangnamgrah. But Magellan's journals don't say anything about these guys except for some cryptic stuff that was only supposed to fit for the period of Magellan and da Gama. So… since we have to find out a bit more about these Asian dudes, we should start in the biggest section about lost Asian people in this country."

They took the last corridor to the right and found themselves staring at a sign written in Spanish and English reading 'lost Asian civilizations'. Right away, Chloe and Charlie stared around the long corridor with various shelves and glass cabinets while Nathan unfolded his diary and the notes he had taken from Megllan journals.

He and Charlie had gone through them numerous times during the night, but none of them actually gave them the location of which they had to look for Thirnomgrung. It seemed that this was a part that Magellan planned to reveal himself to the friends of his that he felt were worthy of bringing along.

So the next best lead they had was to find out more about this civilization that they come across in the lingual library in Cochin. No one else seemed to be inside the section so the three could unfold their stuff without problems. "Interesting idea of a museum where you can pull books out of their shelves." Charlie remarked as he stared at the numerous books and paper rolls in the shelves.

Since the first official national language was named Spanish for the Philippines in general, most of the books that were kept in the section of the museum/ library were written in it. It was something that made it much easier for anyone of them to find something they needed. But then again, Drake brought along the small stencil in how to translate the old language of the Tangnamgrah.

But then again, their search took them forever. Once in a while, someone tilted his head in and saw the trio of western people moving around the place and spreading all the papers and books across the desk in the middle of the room.

Hours and hours took by and Nathan almost found them standing in another dead-end when Chloe shouted from the very last corner of the room and behind numerous shelves. "I GOT IT!" She called and

Drake along with Cutter raced towards the place the Australian woman was.

They stopped right in a dark corner as Chloe blew the dust off from an old looking brown leather wrapper similar to the one Nate got in Lisbon. The American grabbed the object and stared at the black inscription on the back of the wrapper. "La historía de las Tangnamgrah!" Drake read out loud and his heart made pump like he had not felt in a long time.

"This is it." He continued and began to put the book on the table before opening it. Chloe as well as Charlie felt the tension now lying in the air while they got down and deciphered the book. It took them another long time with Drake going through each painting and making notes.

After a long time of silence, Drake turned up and leaned back while rubbing his eyes from tiredness. "That thing is perfect. Everything that is essential to their culture is written in here. The Tangnamgrah were probably one of the highest developed cultures in Asia and the rest of the world. They spread their believe and culture all over south East Asia. It's magnificent."

Nathan turned the page around and saw a folded piece of paper lying inside. He raised his eyebrows and unfolded it revealing a giant painting similar to Chinese landscape drawings. The picture showed a huge mountainside spread over with various trees and temples.

"Hey, I know that place!" Charlie called out tipping with his finger on the painting. "That's the landscape of Cebu City."

Nathan stood up with the painting in his hand walking over to where he had place the journals and the letters from Magellan. "I was amazed by the carvings and the inscriptions made on the walls that I found in the temple." He said recalling what he read once out aloud in one of the letters.

"So… if Thimongrung is one of the biggest myths or things in the Tangnamgrah culture. Which we established exist by now, there must be something in one of these temples that might help us find out where the city is. At least that means that we find out something about those people in there."

Both his partners agreed with the idea and nodded their heads. But then again, Charlie went right ahead and began extracting his hand to the side. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. But then again, there are basically no temples standing here at all by now. From what I've gathered, there has been a great flood centuries back that wiped out nearly the entire island."

Nathan thought about that for a moment as he brought his hand to his chin. His gaze then focused on the words written on the side of which he pulled out the painting. Again, the page was set in Spanish and Drake tried to read out aloud.

"Though like every culture the Tangnamgrah preferred a live on the surface of this world. We were indeed surprised by the wonders we found out down below beneath the surface." He stopped reading and folded his head. "The wonders we found below… That fits, according to the stuff I got told from Cortina… Tihmongrung is a city inside a mountain, underneath the surface if you will. Maybe only the upper side was destroyed but the lower is still well intact."

Charlie on the other hand still kept staring at the painting and he suddenly snapped his fingers. "That thing in the middle looks like the place where the Taoist Temple stands now." The moment he said it, Chloe and Nate began packing the stuff in the museum together showing that they wanted to continue.

"And that's the place we're going next."

* * *

**Author's note:** I tried to reuse some of my spanish from school in order to get the sntences at the end in place. Hope it didn't coe of as too much jibberish.


	7. Into the underground

Well... hello again.

And here we go again for another Chapter.

* * *

**- 7 -**

Into the underground

* * *

After they packed their stuff together in the museum, Charlie, Nathan and Chloe drove together to the northern border of Cebu City. The Taoist temple in the northern part, was built in 1973 by the Taoist community of the city. Most of the outer walls were colored cream and green with various Chinese symbols marked inside.

A statue of a dragon and a tiger stood along the way and kinda symbolized themselves as guardians of the temple. Charlie stopped the vehicle and the trio stepped out right at once. By that time it had already began to sunset with and Nathan knew that the time for that days search was short. But then again, it was a thin line of evidence from the beginning.

"And here we are." Chloe remarked with the three staring around the place. Nothing in close to the temple seemed like anything that would indicate the entrance to an underground world and a lost civilization living right around here. "I get the feeling that this will take a while before we find something.

Nathan was in no position to disagree. He right away stared around and tried to make anything out. Right in front of them stood the temple; the rest was flat area on a small hill. The other part of the place was set houses, parking lots and other public facilities.

However, in the back of them stood a small forest with another hill going even a bit higher than the one they stared onto the city. "That forest doesn't seem like it was touched for a long time. We should split up and do a wide spread search for anything suspicious.

Right away, each one of them took a position far away from the other as they began walking in a line up hill. Constantly, they kept their gazes directed to the ground in search for any type of old rock or any type of stone giving away and ancient style.

But as much as there was hope that they would find a clue in the forest, the more there was the chance that the forest overgrew any sign of unnatural buildings in this place. The trees weren't planted that tight together so that they could see each other even due to the big distance between them. "Come one… where are you hiding?" Nate muttered to himself pressing his hands into his hips.

Minute after minute went by… and these minutes turned into hours. But then again, there was nothing around Nathan than trees and a fallen leaves. It was already getting dark and the trio had to bring out some flashlights to make it a bit brighter. Drake knew that they would be unable to find anything in the dark.

"There's nothing her Nate!" he heard Chloe call and he was about to respond. "Yeah you might ri…ighaaah!" He suddenly screamed as he fell face first into the mood as he stumbled over something." He heard Charlie and Chloe call to him as he pushed his face out of the wet forest ground. "OH man!" The American muttered staring up.

He would have almost screamed up in shock as he stared into an ugly face right in front of him. His muscles relaxed only after he realized that the face in front of him was a stone statue. "Oh jeez!" he said in relief and sat back on.

"NATE!" Charlie called as he slowly trotted through the forest up to the place where Nathan had sat down. "What is it?"

The American stared once again on the statue on front of him while he was joined by his two friends. It was almost as if he got hit with a log in the face. Without wasting any second, he brought out his journal and opened it. "Sometimes, life's good to me." He said to himself his eyes shifting between his journal and the statue.

It was in that moment that the other two stopped right beside him glancing at him with questioning looks. "What have you discovered?" Chloe asked right away as she realized that her friend wasn't hurt but instead was in the middle of figuring something out.

"Good thing I saw this guy before." He replied and lifted his journal so that the Australian could take a look at it. "You know who this is?" He asked and Chloe right away recognized.

He statue was designed as an old Asian sculpture. It showed the face of a man with a beard wearing a crown. In his hands, he held two crescent pieces in each one. "That's Rahu!" he called and his heart began to pound with excitement. Though it was getting darker more and more, he began moving the dirt and the leaves away from the ground until he reached something stony. "You. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me!?" he continued to say and felt the stone on the ground.

Neither Chloe nor Charlie were sure what was going on as Drake got back to his feet. "This is… a stare!" he said and without waiting for any other second, he ran forward.

"He is doing it again!" Charlie said into the ears of the woman before going after him.

Drake kept running as he followed small stony markings on the ground unto they stopped and he stared directly into the edge of a giant hole in the ground. Though it could be just a strange natural structure in this woods. But right away, Nathan realized the last remains of what looked like ruins that once stood above the ground and placed around the hole.

Right away, both Chloe and Charlie stopped beside him and stared into the darkness below as well. "You got to be kidding me?" Chloe said immediately realizing what they had come across on. A little smirk appeared o her face as she kept glaring back on the American at her side.

"I somehow get the feeling that we find some answers in this hole." Charlie said right away with his hands in his pockets. "At least I hope given the fact that crawling into an artificial hole during night in the middle of the jungle is in any possibility a bright idea."

Nathan breathed for a short moment while he pondered over the fact of how he once again stumbled over a secret just by accident. And this was the part where he found the rush and excitement for him to get down there and solve the secret of Thirmongrung. But then again, his voice of reason and caution clicked in and he brought his hand s into his hips.

"We have to stop here and come back tomorrow." He said which forced both his partners to shake their heads up and stare at him with disbelieve.

"You want to wait till tomorrow? Seriously!?" Charlie asked shifting his head from the American and the hole at their side. "Now that we are so close in getting down there. There's no time to waste." He continued by waiving his arm and hands around wildly.

But Nate simply turned around and faced his friend and folded his arms in front of his chest. "Listen, it's getting darker by every second. And I don't want to get down there in the middle of the night without any equipment. We have no idea what is down there and that's something I don't want to risk… at least not anymore." He replied after making some notes in his journal and putting it back into his pocket.

"Right tomorrow, we get some cave climbing gear and some supplies and we're going down there." Nathan continued to call as he marched back to the car with Charlie and Chloe standing back and pulling out their flashlights.

They shined down into the hole as Charlie tilted his head slightly to the side. "Y'know he's right. That thing is about as deep as it can get. We should take this seriously." He added checking his light and tried to find the bottom of the pit. "I wouldn't dive down there either if I didn't know where and when this thing was going to end.

Seeing as they both had a point, Chloe put her own flashlight into her pocket and followed Charlie back through the forest. "Alright, let's kick back to this tomorrow." She added before padding back to the other two men that had already brought some distance between them and her.

* * *

The next day came quickly and the sun already stood rather high in the air and shined down on the city below. Who would have thought that one would find a rental store for cave exploring in the middle of Cebu city and the Philippines? But then again, Charlie did manage to find one.

And so, the English man parked on the street while he and Chloe began storing the gear in the trunk while Nathan kept walking on the sidewalk holding a phone to his ear. "And nobody can tell you anything?" he asked into the phone and obviously to the person talking on the other side of the line.

He waited for a short while listening before he replied again himself. "But then again, someone must know what happened and why they can't contact the rest of the people!" He said and let his head drop for a little bit knowing what was going on.

"Okay… so… let me know if anything develops." Nathan said and clipped the phone closed again before he sighed with worry and concern.

It was something that was immediately noticed by Chloe who walked around the car and stopped right in front of her friend. "What's wrong?" She asked seeing the stern and worried face.

For a moment, he thought about telling her immediately as he shifted the phone back in and kept staring from side to side. "I just had Sully on the line!" He said and breathed for a short moment before continuing. "Elena's company lost the contact with her a few days ago. There have been no reports of anything going wrong… but normally, they would have checked in with them by now."

That news hit Chloe very heavy. She knew what those words mean when something like that happened in Afghanistan. "And nobody knows where they are?" She asked after that before they walked back to the car.

"The command says that there might be some problems with communications. But then again, that could mean something really bad." His voice fainted at the end as he got in the car right after Chloe and Charlie got in. He continued to shake his head before he spoke more to himself than to the others. "I hope she's alright!"

Their drive up back to the forest and the hole didn't take long and right at once, the trio of treasure hunters began building up a cable winch which would drop them down into the darkness below. The giant construction hat four feet that were placed at each side of the hole with the rack being fixated in each one and spread over the dark spot in the ground. The engine moving the steel cable was placed at another end and the cable itself now lied long enough for each one of them to hook on.

Drake moved through his backpack as he put on a belt that could fit his journal, a bottle of water, a flashlight and other small pieces that he could need for this type of exploration. The last thing he strapped around his chest was his gun holster including a gun that he fit into the gear.

"Do you really think that we're going to need that down there lad?" Charlie asked out loud staring over to his American friend and the gun he held in his hand.

But Nate simply stared to the side and shrugged his shoulder. "Given the weird things I have seen in weird place up to this point… I better don't take any chances." He cocked the gun and then began walking over to the edge where the steel cable to get himself down into the hole.

He stared back up into the eyes of Chloe who had her hands on the control of the engine. "Alright let's go!" He said and the Australian woman began letting Nathan down into the darkness. Cautioned and tensed, the other two stared after their friend as he slowly dropped deeper and deeper.

Right in that moment, Nate brought out his headset and pressed the button to activate it. "Alright, the speed is good. Just keep going this way." He tried to count the yards and the feet that he dropped down into the hole but gave up in the midway. The light above him began to get weaker and weaker and he soon had to bring out his flashlight.

On the outskirts of the hole, Drake could see small pieces set into the wall which gave him the indication that there must have been stairs running around the structure but had now completely vanished from the side.

After another short time, Nathan stared to the ground with his light and could see the ground coming closer. Right away, he dropped down and released himself of the harness that was locked to his back before staring around again.

And what he saw, he could not believe that it was lying right in front of him. "Unbelievable!" He said extracted his hand s to reach for the wall in front of him.

"_What is unbelievable?" _He heard Chloe asked through the headset and he stopped for a short moment staring around.

Right in front of him stood the giant outer line of what seemed like a door. He could tell by the straight line going upwards in the middle and the two huge metal and rusty rings left and right. For a moment, he stared around the place looking for some inscriptions as he could hear and see Charlie dropping on the ground and staring into his direction as well.

"Alright, that's unexpected." The Englishman remarked staring on the gate and felling the stone with his right hand. Charlie stepped back again glancing around the place once again while Drake glanced over to him. Charlie grabbed his flashlight with both his hands before speaking. "I can't believe that these guys had this entrance buried underground and no one ever got that this thing is placed here."

As much as that was something one could hold against the logic of this world, Nate had no intention to think further about this as he held one hand to his small headset. "Chloe! We found a door down here." He replied through the line to answer the question she asked a few seconds ago.

"So… we're spot on!?" She half asked and half made clear.

"Absolutely!" Nathan replied again before he waved his hand into the direction of Charlie. "Come on, let me help open it." He called and the two walked up nd each pulled on one of the rings. After the American had counted to three, they pulled… but the door didn't move an inch.

Another pair of attempts followed but nothing even moved an inch. "Guess it's locked." Charlie remarked half in sarcasm.

Once again, Nate and he felt each halves of the door and felt for anything that seemed suspicious. "But, there are no locks on this." He let his hand ran over the back of his head thinking about a solution. Again and again, the man felt the stony door and the lines that were locked in it.

Both him and Charlie grew impatient with every second that went by. That was until Drake's head and eyes locked on a pair of symbols which his flashlight had found in the darkness. By now, Nathan knew when he had come upon the old language of the Tangnamgrah. And so he right away pulled out his journal to pick the paper which he used to translate the language. "For those… who know a friend… may enter… this realm."

Nathan turned his gaze down a little bit more and found a strange looking object completely covered in dust and botany. In the back, Charlie waved his arms around in confusion. "Oh that's brilliant. If you know a friend, than you are welcome… yet it still doesn't tell us how to open the bloody door."

"_Is it a riddle?" _Chloe once again asked through the headset.

But Nate didn't respond since he had his flashlight between his teeth as he removed the stuff lying on the small object. Finally, he put the light out of his mouth and replied. "No! I just misread the inscription, it doesn't mean 'if you know a friend'… it means, if you know the word friend." He said and pointed at a small disc in the middle of the door which had another group of symbols. "It's like a vault, we have to enter the code so the letters say friend. Only problem, I don't know the language and the word friend."

"_Why don't you try… mellon?"_

A small chuckle escaped Charlie as he stepped to the side of Drake who only rolled his eyes. "That's clever… but I think I go with this." One after another, he began turning the disk until a small black spot stopped on one of the symbols on the side around. Once in a while, Drake failed and he had to start over again before a loud click appeared after he put the black spot on another symbol.

Clicks appeared on every part of the door and Charlie as well as Nathan stepped back. "We did it!" They called and grabbed each side of the door before pulling on it. The gate gave away a dark hole in the wall and the two treasure hunters held their flashlights inside to see something. "Chloe, we found the entrance and the temple. We're going in!"

"_Alright but be careful!"_

"You know us beautiful, we can take care of ourselves." Charlie called back right away before he stepped right behind Drake almost as if he was scared. "After you!" He said and Drake right away turned around with his hands pressed against his hips.

After shaking his head, the duo stepped in.

* * *

The minute they stepped through the door, they found themselves in a long dark tunnel with stony walls that had no decoration on them. It was like the thing was crafted into the mountain. Several torches hung from the wall and Nate didn't hesitate to take one while keeping his head directed into the front for the while time.

He searched his pockets for a match but couldn't find one before Charlie lit up the torch right away. Parts of the corridor was lit up and Charlie took another torch lighting it up himself. Together, the duo stepped through the tunnel.

"I wonder if these tunnels and underground corridors were mined in the mountain or if this guys just them." Charlie remarked while turning around once in a while staring at the ceilings and walls. Just a few seconds, they found themselves at another door a little bigger than the other before.

Nathan turned his head little to the left and found a picture hammered in stone on the wall, he approached it right away and stared deeply at it. It showed the sight of Rahu, a really familiar face by now with Nate, as he held a small object over his head. In what appeared to be the background, he could see small linings that seemed to symbolize water, a river or maybe a sea. The picture itself was a bit intriguing and seemed to have a special mean to itself.

"Somehow, I got the feeling that these guys had way more to hide than we thought." He replied with a short turn of his body staring up and down the wall.

"_Nate! Charlie! What is going on down there?"_

For a moment, Drake had forgotten that she could still hear them through the headphones. Drake shrugged together a little bit before he called back. "It is Rahu again. You know what I told about, one of these things always leads to something mystical and bad. I get the feeling this is too." Without even wanting to hear an response, he turned his attention back on the door.

Much to his surprise, the inscription read the same line than on the other. It was no problem by now to turn the disk to get through the vaults code. And again, mechanisms clicked up and down the door before the treasure hunters opened it.

None of them realized what they did until they opened their door and they got a glimpse inside and found what was waiting for them. "What in the… bloody hell!?" Charlie called out nearly knocked to the ground while Nathan slowly stepped forward.

"You got to be kidding me!?"

"_What's going on?"_ Chloe called but didn't get an answer.

Charlie and Nathan had entered a room that was far beyond what they expected. It looked like a mixture of a Chinese monastery and a Thai temple. The floor was made of bright and shining stones while most of the walls were colored with a light green and white. Right in front of them stood a giant altar designed in the same way as some Buddhistic temples in South East Asia. Banners hung from the walls and panting stood on lower points.

Though there were no windows in the place, they could see a small piece of light coming through the upper part of the room and shining on a giant crystal chandelier that spread the light all around the room and made the flashlight pointless.

And in every corner of the room stood the statue of Rahu. Nathan kneed down and let his hand move over the ground. "Unbelievable! The room is absolutely clean. Like it hadn't been touched in centuries."

"You mean millennia!" Charlie corrected him and walked over to one of the statues. With the corner of his eyes, he could see another pair of doors that possibly lead into other rooms.

While the two men stepped through the temple, Nathan spoke out to Chloe through his headset. "We found it!" He simply said with the Australian woman which was followed by a quick. "Thimongrung?" from her before Nate went on. "No but… if this place doesn't tell us, I don't know what."

With that, he followed Charlie as they opened a green colored wooden door and stepped right away into another door. Even though there didn't seem to be any threat coming from this place. They were careful as they stepped in. "Now if that isn't a wall picture." Charlie remarked as he was the first to stare into the octagonal room colored in the same design than the other one.

Though it was way smaller than the other, the paintings that hung from the wall were all the more impressing. They were all designed in Chinese landscape picturing. Nate#s eyes right away locked on one to his left. It showed a cliff in front of the ocean. There seemed to be a flood coming since waves were rather high, and on top of it stood a figure in a black coat that held his arms high into the air with something silver shimmering in his hands.

His eyes kept on the picture and he was unable to take his eyes of it until Charlie brought him back out.

"NATE!" He called numerous times before the American responded and turned away coming towards him. The English man had stopped on a small table that stood in the corner of the room. The two stared down as they found yet another brown leather folder which didn't seem to belong here.

Slowly and with shivering hands, Nathan picked it up and folded it open. He was taken aback right away as he recognized the language and the hand writing. "Magellan!" Nathan said slowly and calmly barely holding on to the book. "He was here, in this very room." Nathan said out to both Chloe and Cutter before trying to decipher some of the words written.

"Whatever we believed the world was, I know that it isn't. Though some might name me crazy for my thoughts. I know that the things I discovered are real. As much as I believe more in the moon than in the church, I believe that the legends that once were told in the mythology of the Tangnamgrah is true." Nathan turned the page and kept his eyes focused on a picture drawn on the left side.

It showed a small glass that was used for ingredients at a doctor's room or the store of a perfume. Though nearly the whole page was filled with the drawing, he found a small inscription on the bottom which forced him to pull back his hand and let his mouth drop open. "It's the amrita!" He said out loud.

Charlie beside him folded his arms and got a questioning look on his face. "The am-what now?" He asked keeping his gaze on the book as well.

Holding it his left hand, Nathan gestured with his right as he put the pieces together himself while explaining it to Charlie. "Rahu is a demon in the Thai mythology, he once wanted to drink the Amrita which is said to give one eternal life." He began walking around and staring at the room surrounding them. "After the moon and the sun told that to Vishnu, Vishnu decapitated Rahu. It is said that his body and his head cause the eclipses of the sun and the moon."

"_So! Magellan found not only a city filled with treasure. He also found the way to immortality." _Chloe said and the words sunk in into the trio for a while. _"Not that I don't believe in things like that by now. But let's just assume that it turned out that way. How in the world did a civilization with that power and knowledge go down and nearly vanish from the sights of this world?"_

Nathan had no answer to that question since he thought about those things again. But he kept reading through the pages to follow reading out loud. "But not only would the rest of the civilized world not only don't believe and understand. They would not be able to comprehend the powers and wonders that I and my travelers found. Something that throw down empires and kings. Something… that must stay hidden forever."

As he stared to the side, he saw another door hanging half open and leaving enough space for him to stare into another room and another giant object hanging on the wall.

The American kept his eyes locked on it right as Charlie saw it himself and was also intrigued. Slowly and carefully, they walked over to the door and pushed it open before entering. It was another room shaped just like the one just like the one before. Nothing else seemed to be significant for Drake and Cutter. Yet there was a small glass standing on one table in the middle of the room.

And lying in the glass was a small silver shining object. The thing didn't seem to be touched or even looked at since the temple was left centuries ago. Nate and Charlie brought their heads down and stared at the thing with wondering eyes. "What do you make of it?" The American thought with the other one pondering on the spot.

"I have no idea! Doesn't look like gem stone to me. But then again, I haven't seen anything that looked like that that wasn't a gem stone." he simply recalled unable to take his eyes of the thing. Both were fascinated by the strange silver and warm light that seemed to go out from it.

Though Chloe called through the headset to tell her what was going one. None of them spoke before Drake brought his hand forward and touched the glass. "You think this is such a great idea?" Charlie said almost whispering even though there was no one down there with them.

"Not sure myself, but I got to find out." Nathan replied and lifted the glass before grasping the shining object. Although none of them had to fear something to happen, gasps of relief escaped their muzzle as they realized that nothing was going to happen.

But then there was a sudden shimmer coming from the giant painting on the wall. It wasn't a Chinese styled landscape painting. It was more than a map of numerous bushes and wood spread all around the landscape. A small silver dot was located in the northern part of the map and both men stared at the map painting before Drake pointed with his finger at it and his mouth dropped open.

"There… There's Thimongrung!" Drake called slowly and silently as if he was afraid to ruin the moment. He quickly turned the page again and quickly found another map stuck on the left side of the book.

The moment, he was finished with analyzing the landscape he found scripted in the book, he stared back on the painting and then right at Cutter. "The city is not on the Philippines. It's in Thailand." He said and Charlie stared at him with cautious eyes. "In northern Thailand to be exact." He turned around so that Charlie could stare at the page himself. "See this, I know what mountainside this is. And the marking Magellan put on this, and the one up there, shows where we have to go."

"How much you wanna bet, that this city is once again located underneath a mountain. All we have to do is travel to Thailand and sort it out. Now that should be easy." The English man replied though not really in sarcasm. Staring around the room again.

But right away Drake didn't really go with that thought. "If we can find what this missing page was about, it might be easier." He replied and Charlie turned around staring at what his friends meant. And indeed, the other side of the page which Nate flipped to was ripped only left a few left over pieces inside the book. "I got the feeling that we may need what was written on this page."

As Charlie turned away from him again, he clapped him on the shoulder. "But then again, it should be a walk in the park from here on. We just have to keep a low profile and no one will catch up with us." He laughed and Charlie joined in. It took them a while before they stopped and silence filled the temple again.

Both stared at each other right before the thought sucked into them more and more. "So… we did it?" Charlie asked with his hands pressed into his hips.

"Yep, we did it!" Nathan replied before he turned his attention back on the Australian woman on the outside. "Alright Chloe, we're coming back out."

* * *

It had begun raining on the surface, as Drake and Cutter pulled back out from the hole and were greeted by Chloe. Each one of them by now could feel the excitement that lied over them with the fact that they might have found the location of the lost city Thirmongrung.

Quickly and without wasting any time, they packed together their exploring gear before carrying it back to their car. The rain was heavy and for a short moment, Drake was glad that they got out of that hole quickly since he felt that the rain would fill up the whole rather quickly.

Thinking back on it, he questioned himself more and more if building those temples and buildings underground might not be the most practical way in building a civilization. But right now, all his attention set on getting together their stuff and then be on their way to Thailand.

The trio found their car quickly and right away stored their gear back in it. Nathan put the book he found down below on the passenger's seat right as Chloe put her head out and spoke to the American. "First thing we have to do is to catch the first flight to Bangkok, I know someone who can give us a guide to bring us to the northern part and even get us a mountain guide." She called while walking on the other side of the vehicle and throwing the backpacks on the back seat.

"Yeah… that might be the best. Although I would consider going through the mountainsides ourselves since…" He stopped as he saw the stone turned face of Chloe and he began raising his eyebrows. "Chloe?" He asked as he saw the woman staring to the side with an open mouth.

"Nate!" She replied slowly and with complete shook while pointing her into the direction of her eyes. Nathan turned around and followed he gaze.

His heart stopped on the spot as he saw the two figures standing just a few meters away from their position in the middle of the muddy road. Drake right away recognized them as he could name out Lawrence and Chen glaring at them underneath an umbrella.

The bearded man was dressed in a black rain coat as he held the umbrella above the two f them with Chen simply having put on a shirt with a leather jacket above. While the asian man still had his grumpy and angry stare directed at the American, Lawrence waved one of his hands for him to come over.

"Slowly, Drake marched forward closing in on the two with his hands ready to fight in any moment. Chloe in the back got to the car and quickly pulled out a gun ready to shot as well. The treasure stopped just a few inches away from them while folding his hands. "What do you want? How did you find us?"

Once again, Lawrence was completely self assured as he handed the umbrella over to one of his men coming from the back and wearing a suit. "This time, it was a bit more difficult. But once I knew you were going to the Philippines, it got easier and easier. And of course the fact that one can't buy a cave exploring gear in the middle of the city without causing some suspicion." With both his hands, he opened his coat and reach inside.

Right away, Drake went into a fighting stance tensed to the tops of his hair and ready to fight. But Lawrence right away waved off his hand right in the moment as Charlie and Chloe stepped to his side. "Relax Mr. Drake, the time to fight has not begun yet. I just wanted to inform you on something. And once you know that, you will hand everything that you know about Thirmongrung to me."

"And why should I do that?" Nathan called right away not moving an inch.

But Lawrence never lost his relaxes as he pulled out a small flat object. "Just take a look at this." He said and handed Drake something that looked like photo.

Nathan took it and stared at it for a split second. And what he saw made him fall flat to the ground almost on the spot. All the air was sucked out of him and he had to stare to the side for anything to hold on. "You monster!" he simply said through gritted teeth and with all hatred coming out of his eyes.

The picture showed Elena tied to a chair with her head hanging slightly to the side and showing bruised all over it. Left and right from her stood Lawrence and Chen smiling and making peace signs with their hands. "If she's hurt in any way, I'm going to tear you apart." he continued to threaten the American. Before he heard the gasps of Chloe and Cutter in his back.

"Oh I highly doubt that! But be assured that Mrs. Drake is fine… well… at least given the fact that she is not badly hurt at the moment." Lawrence replied with ease and then gave Nathan another piece of paper. "And if you want to keep it that way or even make her situation even better, you will hand over the results of your research or else… well you can tell the rest. I give you my number, if you are ready to make the exchange. Call me."

Nathan took the piece of paper and right away clenched his fist at the sides of his body. Growls and grunts escaped his mouth as he watched the two men turn around and leaving the scene and the third one pointing a gun into their direction. Out of the sudden, he felt the need to shot them in the back. But right now, there was only one thought that was keeping him from doing that. _Elena!_

After watching them leave, everything broke out inside Nate. "ARGH!" With loud screams of anger and frustration, he began hitting and kicking against the car while shouting out very foul words. Again and again his hand collided with the metal of the car until it got numb while the pain got bigger and bigger.

Chloe and Charlie watched him with sorrow before the English man pulled him away from the vehicle. Slowly and Drake sunk to the ground and looked up to his two friends. "That was the reason why I decided to get out of this life." He said slowly while washing some of the water out from his face. "She tried to warn me numerous times. She left me numerous times because of this."

The feeling inside Nate's stomach was unbearable. Not that often of his life did he fell that lost. It was a feeling that Nathan had last felt when he thought Sully got shot in Ubar. Getting back up and resting his forehead on the top, he let the latest news sink into his mind again.

Without saying another word, Drake got back in the car and turned the keys with Charlie and Chloe quickly getting inside too. "What are you going to do?" Chloe asked while they began driving back into the city.

"First, we're going to get our stuff, then we call Sully. And then, we get my wife back!" Nathan added before pushing the throttle right down to the floor.

* * *

**Auhtor's note: **


	8. One night in Bangkok

Hey! What's up everybody?

I don't know if I did that before up to this point but...

So far... thanks to anybody that had put this story on their alerts and fav's, and of course the ones that send PM's and Review (even though there aren't that mch :) ). But hey, even a little bit is enough.

So a little update on the writing process. I still don't know how long this story will go and how many chapter there will be. But I think that there will be about 16-17 chapters. So this kinda marks the imaginery halfway point to the story. But then again, I'm not quite sure.

**Ashley: **Thanks a lot!

And with that said, let's kick right back into the story.

* * *

**- 8 -**

One night in Bangkok

* * *

**Bangkok, Thailand, South East Asia**

There are many stories and myths and legends told about the city named originally Krung Thep Mahanakhon. Many movies and shows had their place of action in the city that was the Capital of the kingdom of Thailand. Over 10 Million people lived in the main city and the areas around the metropolis. To catch every facet of this monstrosity of a city would not only pointless, but it would also take way too long and even then it wouldn't justice to the city in the middle of South East Asia.

The day was hot and the clock read 1 o'clock in the noon. Yet nobody could tell with the smog and the clouds of waste lying above the city. The Thai Blossom residence Hotel in one of the newer and richer districts was a hotel build in a giant tower. From the higher floors, one could easily take a look on a huge part of the city.

Taylor Lawrence stood in the 20th floor of the hotel and stared out of the window into the chaos of the city down below. He wore a light grey suit with a black button up shirt without a tie as he had his hands behind his back. His gaze was empty and thoughtful with the daily madness going on in the streets.

"What a waste of space and resources." He said half to himself and half to the other people inside the hotel room.

Behind him sitting on a chair with one leg lying above the other was Elena, wearing one of her usual shirts colored black and blue jeans. Her hands were cuffed in front of her and she stared at the man on the window while twisted and turned her wrists around staring at the metal around her arms.

"This city is a mess." The American said still staring to the outside. "Dirty rivers and waters, traffic chaos in every street and no thought process in planning this city." Lawrence said and then turned around to the blonde woman and Chen leaning in the back against the wall. He walked forward and sat down a black leather chair in the all in all white and brightly colored hotel apartment. "But that will soon change for good." He added but more to himself than to the other people in the room.

Elena had realized the small nasty grin that appeared on the face of the man as he said the last sentence and she narrowed her eyes a little bit. "I really wonder what you will do in order to change all that chaos out there. After all, you're just a simple thief." She threatened with all the hatred and anger in her voice.

At once, the man turned around and stared deeply into her eyes while he rested his hands on the armrest of her easy chair. "I am an extraordinary thief Mrs. Drake. And since I turned into kidnapping, you should be a bit more careful with me." He said and backed off from her before facing Chen in the back. "I always wanted to say that." He told right before staring back out the window and on a plane flying right above the city.

"But let me assure you, I am more than a simple thief. If I would be, I wouldn't waste this many resources just to find one man. No my dear…" his voice faded away as he begun talking in a way that almost let the blonde woman doubt the sanity on the American with the beard. "Finding Thirmongrung is more than just finding a lost city and a treasure… it is the key to real power. Power that people can't even imagine in their dreams."

Again and again, Elena turned her wrists around in her cuffs not sure whether she should believe the words coming from Lawrence. But then again, she spent quite a while of her life chasing after a man who had similar desires in her life. "If you think that!? But then again, you're not the first one of your type that I have come across these years." She said with ease. "let's see how you think about that once me and my friends are done with you."

A slight laughter escaped the mouth of Lawrence before he turned around to her. "That is something that I am going to remember." He was about to walk back to her before he stopped for a short moment and then pulled out his cell phone. "But speaking of your friends. I guess it's time for an update." He said and dialed a number while putting the phone to his ear.

* * *

While Elena was forced to wait in the hotel for anything to happen or to develop, Drake and his partners and friends actually were forced to do something. Chloe and Drake walked through the busy streets in one of the lower parts of the city. The duo kept walking through a market place right in the middle of old wooden and clay houses. The whole area told the time that this place had been standing in this city by now.

But even if this place would have been great for historical research and or local sightseeing, neither Chloe nor Nathan had an eye for that. "They're here… somewhere in this city." Nathan grunted through gritted teeth while shifting his gaze from left to right and from right to left.

The whole area was busy with locals walking all around the fields and streets while small cars, bikes and other light vehicle drove by them from every direction. Although Chloe wanted to say something, she kinda had the feeling that none of her words would do anything to make the man beside her feel better. But then again, saying nothing would just make things worse after all.

"We'll get her back, we're going to screw things really over for that guy." She said with her speech totally directed at Taylor Lawrence. Yet Nathan wasn't that convinced and just kept his eyes on their surroundings with stern and careful eyes.

After another quarter of an hour of walking, they stopped in the middle of a small and narrow street. Numerous shield and signs hung above the doors with some of them being neon lit. It looked like the duo had come across a street of restaurants and small bars which wasn't all that attractive to tourists or other.

Both Drake and Chloe stared upwards at the sign written in Thai with the American scratching his head. "This must be the place.." He said tensed afraid that anything was not going according to plan.

But they didn't have to wait all that long as another duo of figures appeared on the other side of the road and soon came up to them. One of them was Charlie with th other one being Drake's long time friend Sully. While the grey haired man once again wore a red shirt as he lifted a cigar to his mouth.

Though Nathan wanted to smile, he simply couldn't. Instead he just walked up to Victor and hugged him friendly. "Thanks for coming Sully." He said as he released him while staring into the round.

"No problem Kid. How are ya feeling?" Sully asked right away with concern waiting for anyone to respond.

Drake inhaled for a short moment and looked on the ground before glancing back at his friend. "I feel lousy." He said and then turned his attention back on the house at their side. "And this is the place you wanted us to come to?" He asked bringing his hands into his hips.

Sully clapped him on the shoulder before opening the door. "Yep… this is where we find the one that can give us the equipment we need." He added and entered. The inside of the bar was nothing like someone would expect in this part f the city. Neon lights and high value wood decorated the walls and tables with the main bar counter being long and having numerous chairs placed in front of them.

And of course one of the most obvious things were the pole dances which were obviously meant for women to dance on them in the nights. While Sully folded his arms in front of him, the other of the group just stared at the scenery with disbelieving eyes and open mouths. "Now that's the kind of place that I like to spend my nights in Bangkok." He joked and waved his hands to the man behind the counter.

The grim looking Thai grinned and gave him a wink with his head before pointing with his hand to the back of the bar. Right away, Sully was the first that walked around a corner where they found a Thai in his thirties sitting on a table smoking a cigarette. In front of him, he had a glass and a bottle made of rice wine while he laid some cards on the table.

"Rattan!" Sully greeted stopping right in front of the table and putting his hand on the rest of the chair.

The short cut Thai with the Hawaii shirt and the gold chain around his neck stared up at the American. "Victor!" he simply said and gave Sully a wink to sit down with him. Right away, Nathan followed him while Charlie and Chloe stayed in the back. "So… you finally managed to let yourself see again after all these years. DO you have the money you owe me?" His voice wasn't hostile but had the same tone that every man had in oppose to Victor Sullivan.

Though Sully kinda expected that to come, he wiped his forehead before replying. "Well uhm… but quite." He began and Drake could see the Thai leaning back in his chair and pressing the cigarette shut in the ashtray. "Uhm… Nate, this is Rattan Anatapong! Rattan… this is Nathan Drake." The old man finally introduced him and Nate.

Right away, the eyes of the Thai began to turn into an expression of interest. "I see, that is the famous Nathan Drake, they say that you have the talent to get your hands at any artifact and precious that one could find. He said in broken English while bringing his hand together and resting them on his legs.

Nathan didn't know if he should be flattered or that he should be worried that people who Sully owned money to would be interested in his job. "Some might say that." He simply replied with his eyes wandering from Sully towards Rattan and back. He then folded his arms and quickly got to the point since… well, Nathan had no time to lose. "We were told that you could help us out with a little problem… that you could provide us with… some special gear." He said leaning his arms on the table.

However, Rattan Anatapong was relayed as he sat in his chair and began to from a slight smirk on his face. "That depends Mr. Drake. If your friend and partner is able to pay hid dept. I may consider giving you some of my precious and value belongings." His voice was slimy but then again, showed that he was willing to give them what they wanted.

And in some way, Drake could understand him. In the business he and Sully had been wandering around for most of their lives, no one was willing to give away anything for free. And that was especially if he still had some open bills with the one buying their stuff. "Look… whatever it is that Sully owes you, I'm sure I can pay you back everything. Plus the stuff you get for helping us out."

With the American being completely serious and urgent, Anatapong leaned forward again and began shifting his cigarette in the ashtray. "You have no idea what your friend is owing me by now. But then again… you seem like the man who would keep his promises." He shifted his gaze up to the side before staring back at them. "However, I have heard these types of promises and statements from so many people before. And I don't see why that makes you any different from the others."

The frustration inside Drake began to grow with every second. He didn't have the time to keep arguing with a low life gun dealer in the middle of a slum while his wife was in the hands of some gangster or mad men. Not to mention, a mad men that has proven to do horrible things to other people. "What about if I give you my word?" He then asked almost sounding pleading leaned back.

And again, Rattan stared onto the table, then back to the walls and then on the group in front of him. He then grabbed his silver Zippo lighter before clicking it open a few times. "I don't believe in people tat give me their words… but I believe in money." He leaned forward again. "Alright Mr. Drake, we have a deal. Come tonight to the _Wild lotus_ club. I'll be there and we can discuss more of the details." He finally said and stood up right away.

Sully nodded and then shook the man's head before he waved off to them. Neither Drake nor Sully stared back as they walked back out of the bar and back onto the hot and sunny street. The grey haired man right away lightened one of his cigars with Nathan shading his eyes with his hands while staring up.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is one of _those _acquaintances of you lad." Charlie said in the back staring back on the place they had left a second ago.

Drake turned around and raised his eyebrows. "Well… that's because it IS one of those. Ain't that right Sully?" Nate half asked and made clear with Sullivan slowly putting the cigar back in his mouth.

With a small wink of his eyes, he looked back at his friend. "Yeah okay… the last time we saw each other, we didn't part in good terms. But then again, Rattan is an honest crook and dealer." Victor replied with a shrug while padded his fist into Drake. "Trust me on this kid." He added before walking along.

Nathan stayed back while shrugging his shoulders too. "If you say that…" He began before holding the passing Cutter by the arm and spoke into his ears. "Just keep an eye open once we go to seal this deal." Drake said as he dragged him along and d got responded with a. "Will sure do!"

* * *

Even though Nathan was not in the mood, he had to agree that even he had to eat once in a while. So the group settled down in a small restaurant on a boulevard in the more higher up districts of the city. Everywhere they looked, they could see small motorcycles and cars driving left and right to get every small gap in order to escape the chaos that was called traffic in Bangkok.

The soon was shining down on them without mercy, the group had settled down underneath a giant umbrella in order to escaped at least the sun streaks since the humidity and the heat were too much. While Chloe and Charlie ate on their rice and noodle dishes served to them. Drake rested his gaze on the meal in front of him.

"Come on Nate, you gonna need that." Sully said and the American treasure hunter stared up to him.

Yet Nate never faced him while he kept glancing down on his meal. "I am not hungry, I'm impatient and angry." He began while hammering his fists slightly onto the table. "Have you got any further with Lawrence?" he then asked catching Sully not completely off-guard.

He put down his fork and then leaned back in his chair. "I checked all the records, called my friends in the departments and used my other corrections. And all we found was… nothing." He then added while Nathan let his head hang down again.

"So… the guy doesn't even exist!?" Drake half asked and half said out loud with Chloe and Charlie stopping eating and stare at the other two.

Yet Sully kept relaxed while he continued to talk. "I didn't say that. There's everything about that we need. Birth certificate, Insurance number, driver's license… The guy has a clean profile on the outside. The only thing is that… he basically had been gone for about three years ago. Vanished for about 15 years."

At once, the other three were on their edges as they hadn't really set thought on their opponent for all this time. Sullivan stared around and into the questioning eyes of his pal before he went on. "Nobody knows where he came from years ago, and nobody knows how he got the financial recourses he has now." But before anyone could suggest anything, he added another sentence. "And before you ask, he actually pays his taxes correctly."

All three of the listeners let their heads fall to the side for a short moment with Chloe speaking up again. "So… we're dealing with a rich man that, no one knows where he's been for years. What h's been doing for a living, the only thing we know is that he likes to torture, kidnap and kill people in order to find and ancient Thai city for even more fortune and… immortality!?"

The more the Australian women kept speaking, the more she realized in what kind of mess, the quartette had found themselves in again. Nathan on the other hand kept his arms folded in front of him looking back on the older American beside him. "Alright… hat about the other guy, this Chen?" he asked and Sully brought out a pair of glasses and a piece of paper.

"Now here's where it gets interesting." He said and stopped right the moment where he noticed the other three staring at him with disbelieve. "What, I'm not getting younger… my eyes are getting weaker." He shortly added and then got back to the paper in his hands. "Alright, so this Chen guy… is a real mobster, if not someone more dangerous. There's nothing that much known about him either, but there's enough to know that he is a real douchebag."

Nate and Chloe exchanged glares as if to say _tell me about it._ "Chen got out of the slums of this very city. He made himself head of a mafia type organization that had their hands in nearly every string of crime that you can imagine." Sully turned the page around and then shoved one of the papers over the top of the table. It showed the picture of the crescent moon and an almost dragon like human head reaching for it."

As Drake observed it, he remembered where he had first seen that symbol. "That was on the arms of one of those guy in the museum." He said and grabbed the paper before Sully could reply.

"Now this part is not that well known but… this is the sign of their gang. I don't know what that means but. I bet that these guys are as much as bad as your friends with their suits."

Charlie pondered with his hand against his chin before he replied. "That would mean that even though this Chen and that Lawrence are working together, they're from different parties that have different goals." He said and right away hid the spot on the other three of their friends.

"Whatever this means, every time I see the picture of the moon around me, I get the feeling that we are getting into more and more trouble with every minute. And no matter in what point the priorities of Chen and Lawrence differ, they both be after us first."

Nathan stared at the paper again. Of course he could make the connection with Rahu and the moon on the tattoo, and that made him even more disturbed this time. And for some reason, the sight of Chen being in this made this more and more dangerous.

At first, he thought that the Asian man was just a maid to the American, but having his own history with Navarro and Olivia Hzujak, he knew that people like Chen could be dangerous even to someone like Lawrence. "Once I get my hands on this guy… boy is he in trouble." Drake said through gritted teeth and hammered his hand into his fists. He couldn't wait to finally get the weapons and turn thing around on those men that had his wife.

* * *

The night come and the group around the treasure hunter Nathan Drake once again marched through the neon lit street of Bangkok. The city itself showed a completely different face during the night than it did by day. Everywhere one could glance around the places on the sides of the building in the amusement streets, one could see clubs and bars being opened and ready for tourists as well as locals to spend their money.

But then again, even though Drake and his partners wanted to spend their money, they didn't want it the same way than normal tourists. And so the four found themselves standing in front of the bar that was named the Wild Lotus club. And from what Drake could tell, it was yet another strip club.

Breathing heavy and pressing his hands into his hips. Drake sighed and faced the ground again. "Alright… let's go!" He said and signed to his friends to step in.

The inside of the club was crowded and filled to every inch of the place. Several stages with bars were set all around the room and had numerous women dancing around them. Several people sat around the podiums while other had taken place on the counter with others standing around in conversations.

The smell of perfume and cigars stood in the air and crawled into each of their noses. While Chloe and Nathan were a bit offended by the sight the found themselves in, Charlie and Sully grinned from ear to ear before the grey haired man put on another cigar. "Not that's the kind of place I like to seal my deals." Sully added and walked on to the side of his long time friend.

Right away, they were greeted by an Asian with shoulder long black hair that was bound into a pony tail and a red shirt. Sully nodded right away and led Drake and Sully into the back of the club. After going around two corners, they found themselves facing a crimson red curtain leaving into a back room of the club.

Drake and Sully entered right away and found the Rattan sitting in a chair accompanied by about three people that were obviously guard that made sure Sully and Nate wouldn't try anything stupid. Before Nathan followed his friend through the curtain, he brought his mouth closer to Charlie's eyes. "Keep an eye out!" he said and the English man nodded right away.

Keeping his eyes on attention, Drake stared around the people surrounding the table. His eyes locked for a short moment on the Asian on the round table with the red tablecloth. "Thanks for your time Rattan!" he heard Sully call as he sat down on the table. Nathan preferred to keep standing.

Anatapong kept sitting with has back leaned against the chair while keeping a relaxed expression. "No problem, nothing to thank for when it comes to gain money, and maybe help some friends." He leaned forwards and folded his fingers together before speaking up again. "So… what is it that you want to have from me… exactly?"

Now it was time for Drake to take the lead. Due to the corner they found themselves in and the curtain they were behind, he could understand the conversation perfectly. "Well… first we need the usual things. Handguns, some machine guns, maybe some explosives… and a sniper rifle." Drake said out loud as if he had brought a shopping list with him.

Rattan listened carefully before pointing to one of his men who went through a wooden door into a back room. Nathan searched for any other corners of the room. A thought occurred to him. There were no other way out of this place than through the main room and the back door. He tried to think further when the man returned with a few wooden boxes and placed them on the table. Sully stood up and observed the objects carefully.

"Interesting!" He said as he put up a colt, a weapon that he liked to carry in almost every situation. The American checked the magazine and the turned the drum around a little more. He then inspected the shaft before putting it back down on the table. "Very well!" he then went over to the small amount of machine guns as he checked a pair of MP5's and an M4. "Now that looks more like it." After checking on the mechanisms, he stare back to Nate and gave him an approving nod.

Drake stepped closer and turned towards the Thai that had stood up from his spot. "Looks alright to me, how much do you want to have for all of that? And what do you want for the ammo?" He asked and noticed the small smirk appearing on Rattan which caught his attention.

"The ammunition is inclusive. As a matter of fact, the guns are loaded and ready for usage." He grabbed one of the guns that had a silencer attached to them and directed them on the far wall.

And there was the thought of Nathan again that he didn't caught in the beginning. _How in the world are we going to get these guns out of here if there are no escape routes inside her other than through the crowd on the outside? Who would make a deal if he didn't want… to… be… caught… or catch?"_ Drake's eyes widened and he slowly moved close to the table until he was side to side with Sully.

Right in that moment, Rattan began to speak again. "But I am sure that you want to have these weapons seen at least once before you buy them." He said before pointing his gun at Drake and Sully. Or before you die through them.

Sully was shocked as he saw the other guys staring at them and then pulling guns as well. Drake and his friend reacted quickly as they both pulled guns from the table and held them into the direction of their now new enemies. But then again, they were outnumbered four to two. Even if Cutter could come in, he was unarmed and had no chance in getting to the weapons himself.

Up in front, Rattan laughed and shifted the sleeve on his arm upwards, he revealed a tattoo with a crescent moon with a dragon like head going towards it. "Off all the people you could have come across, you find the one that was surely gonna betray you. I got to say, the world sure is small." He chuckled and the means of Drake and Sully got even more sinister.

"How did you find out what we were going to do?" Sully asked still shocked in which kind of trap he had led his pal into.

The Thai laughed once again sure of himself and that he held the upper hand in this situation. "Not quite from the start, but ever since you came to me. But I got contacted the moment you knocked on my door." He smirked again and walked around the place. "You have been monitored the moment you said foot into this city. They know what you do and when you do it. So it was unavoidable that you got caught sooner or later.

The door behind them flapped open and a small smoke grenade came rolling through it. That was enough for Drake to shoot one of the guards into the knee before elbowing another in the face. Sully did the same as Rattan was still occupied with the smoke grenade. Both Americans stared up and saw Chloe coming through the door just enough to grab Nate by the arm. "Come on guys! We got to get out of here."

Right away, the trio stormed through the red curtain and found themselves back in the club. Right away Drake had to dodge as Charlie sailed past him holding to one of the gangsters as the landed on the ground. He spotted another pair coming their way while the people inside the club realized that a brawl was going on. At his side; Sully had grabbed the arm of a security guard (but then again on of Rattan's men) and pulled him down to the ground.

Nate received a smack to the side of his head and he tumbled to the side with one of them going after him. The duo tumbled to the side and stopped right in front of what seemed to be the entrance to the toilet. By now, people ran left and right with panic as Charlie and Sully as well as Chloe began fighting and exchanging fists with the men that belonged to the Thai mobster.

Right as the American got back to his feet, the Asian attacked him with all his might. Nathan ducked and avoided the attack before he threw the man against the door. For a short moment, they stared into each other's eyes before Nate ran forward and rammed the Asian back first with his shoulder through the door. The wood cracked and the door flew out of the hinges as the fighting duo landed in the middle of the men's rest room. While the Asian got knocked out, Drake slowly got back to his knees.

"What the hell….!"

He heard a voice call in English and he quickly shifted his gaze upwards. Up in front and still having his dearest body part turned to the toilet. Drake was unable to believe what he was seeing. His gaze fell on a western looking man with several burns on his head and short brown hair along with a beard with empty spots due to the burns. Before Drake could say anything, the figure started first.

"Drake!?"

"Chris?!"

* * *

**Author's note:** Once again, I think I'm getting repetitive with this but... again I have never been in Thailand before and I only know Bangkok from movies and television (series and documentaries). So I am in no position in telling anyone about a location which I have never been in myself.

Just to make sure if anybody feels offended by the stuff I write. Yet I can't let the characters go to a place without giving away some info about the city or location. Even though that this is getting into Wikipedia only material.


	9. Who would have thought

Well hello there once again!

Kinda having Problems with my Internet and I had to use a Laptop from a friend to upload this. But here is the 9th Chapter of Curse of the moon

* * *

**- 9 -**

Who would have thought…

* * *

Before the Canadian mercenary could react, the American treasure hunter had thrown himself at him and pushed him against the far wall of the bath room. Chris's head collided with the wall and he groaned in pain before he stared back on Drake.

Chris quickly shifted his body and gave the American a punch in the hip before he kicked him in the stomach. Right away, he wasted no time and zipped his jeans close and straightening the black shirt he wore.

But just in that moment, Nathan was on his feet he ran at Cortina once again. The duo collided and swung back and forth before both punched at each other and hit the other one on the nose. Chris and Nate screamed out in pain and tumbled backwards again while shaking their hands in pain. "No no no… wait!" The Canadian called out of the sudden and held his hands in front of him in a defensive way. "Are we really going through this again?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nathan asked with anger and shock as he saw Chris and though that he had perished on the pirate's ship.

Cortina stared at him while his own body boiled up with anger. "Surprised to see me? No wonder… after you left to die on that ship!" He called being offended and pointed his finger into Nate's direction.

Yet Nathan didn't want to be blamed for something which he thought was the Canadians fault. "Only because you betrayed me." He replied almost screaming and pointing his finger into his direction too.

"I didn't _betray_ you!" Chris replied once again while staring around the room and on the mess that the two had made out of the place. Music still played in the room and the noises of the fight were still real. "I was just as surprised as you were once I found out what was going on the boat."

But Drake had no nerve for that to happen and didn't even want to back out of the argument. "And I suppose that the fact that you suppressed our lines to the outside world was all in good attention!?" The American replied waving his arms to the side and brought head closer to him.

"Oh don't give me that! Just like you, I have certain things that I have to address…"

By that time, the knocked out gangster got back onto his feet and he stared at the two north Americans as they argued. Quickly and with a confused look, he drew a gun from his belt and lifted it up on the duo. "Freeze Americans!" He called in broken English with the other two still arguing.

"SHUT UP!" Both called at the same time in a long drawn out voice before Drake as well as Cortina punched him directly into the face and sent the man flying back onto the ground knocked out heavy this time.

It didn't take long and the two were at each other pulling on their shirts while avoiding getting punched again and stumbling towards the door again. With a loud bang, the stumbled over the ground and landed hard on the ground and short after staring up at a group people clenching their fists ready to fight them.

On the other side, Charlie was in all in a brawl with about two other people as more and more men came busting into the club. With a quick glare, Chris and Nate got back up and right away engaged in the fight. Nathan punched one in the face as he pushed him into the counter before turning around and ramming his elbow in the face of the Asian.

The Canadian on the other side blocked a strike before giving a few short hits to the chin of his attackers before throwing over his shoulder and then stomping on top of him. He didn't have time to react as he got hit from behind by another man and he stumbled a few feet coming eye to eye with the person. "Chris?!" Sully asked with surprised while Chris felt dizzy and tumbled back and forth a bit before replying.

"Sully?"

Charlie in the back hammered one of the wooden chairs into the back of one Asian just before using another leg of it to hammer it onto the head of another gangster. The movement in the bar stopped the moment as the group heard the clicking and cocking of guns and all four men stared around as at least seven left Thai's had their guns locked on them.

Sully, as well as the Canadian, the English man and Nate raised their hands in surrender. Chris stared around and thought about the scene that was about to come. "And it felt so good tearing this place apart with our bare hands." He said getting his sarcasm back in the game.

Once again, Rattan was grinning at them as he stepped back out of the room he was in prior and that still had the smoke grenade sending out the mist. He grabbed one of the rifles and stared at the group inside the club. "Now, here we have four Yankees standing in the middle of this club unable to hide the fact that they just lost their last fight." Charlie and Chris rolled their eyes since they were not American.

But then again, the four men closed their eyes seeing as how they were going to be executed around the next seconds. But just before the gangsters fired out of their rifles, the back door flew open and two flash bangs rolled over the floor close to the group of Asians.

Right away, Drake and Charlie ran away searching for cover while Chris pulled Sully by the collar. "Sweet merciful mother of…" He called while he pulled the older American over the counter just before the grenades blew off and flashed the attackers.

It didn't even take a second before a figure stepped through the door and opened fire on the room. The moment didn't last that long and as soon as it had come, it was over again. Smoke lied all over the room in the air. Slowly, Chris and Sully peaked their heads over the counter with a shocked and completely baffled gaze as they waited for the storm to calm down.

Not far away from them were Charlie and Drake who came out from below a table where they had been hiding as well. The sight they found themselves staring at, bare nothing close to how the place looked before. Glass lied all around the floor and the neon lit signs that were around the place hung halfway down and were out or barely blinking. The debris cracked as the American and the English man stood up and stared at the Canadian and the other American.

"What in the world happened here?" Sully asked right as the quartette heard the sound of a gun dropping to the floor.

All four turned around and stared at the completely satisfied eyes of Chloe holding with her arms folded. "Sometimes, I wonder if I'm the only one that can take the heat of a shoot out." She said with a slick smirk before She walked past them and headed for the door. "We should get out of here. I got the feeling that the police will show up soon." She continued with a little bit a tension in her voice.

The others followed suit and the five met once again in a small side street that went by just a few yards on the side. Charlie and Chloe stared to the back looking if anyone was following them. Drake and Sully as well as the Canadian stood in a triangle in the middle with the buzz cut man staring round the group. "Now that's one night club more where I can never show my face again!" he remarked before turning back on Nate and Sully. "So… what do we do next?"

Drake gave his old friend a short wink before Sully stared into the mercenary's eyes. "Well, for starters…" He began but quickly brought out a revolver before hammering the object on the head of Cortina. The Canadian dropped to the ground within seconds and was knocked out from the start. "We're going to have a nice chat."

* * *

Chris woke up again with a heavy headache. The banging of bells in his head was still going and he had a hard time concentration and getting his surroundings. Chris shifted his head back up and looked directly into the eyes of Victor Sullivan and Nathan Drake. "I get the feeling that you still don't trust me."

Nate and Sully stared at each other before sitting down on chairs. The mercenary found himself sitting on a chair himself surrounded by the four friends he had escaped from the club. He was surprised that he wasn't restrained to the object but instead just sat there leaning against the back.

"How in the world did you get off that boat and back here?" Nathan asked right away with a confused and wondering tone while Charlie and Chloe stared daggers into the face of the mercenary.

Swiping some blood off from his face, Chris stared to the ground and then into the group. "I can tell you one thing… that was the hardest thing I had ever gone through in my life." He began and the expression of his face turned a bit more relaxed. "Thanks to the call, that ship made before those pirates attacked alerted the coast guard who came to the sight rather fast. After they fished me out of the water, they brought me up to Malaysia."

Chris kept gesturing and moved his hands to the front. "It took a lot of convincing to not get arrested and make them send me away." He stopped for a short moment and then began to laugh. "Thank god I still am a citizen of Thailand. Or else I would have been stuck in a prison or a restricted zone of some harbor."

The other's were kinda taken off-guard seeing how the buzz cut man was talking that this was some kind of joke. Yet no one said anything as Nathan was eager to hear the rest of the story not trusting Chris one bit. "If I didn't know better, the last weeks had been full of surprised and coincidences." He continued while resting one of his feet on his leg and his arms folded.

"Ah come on, spare me with that crap. You know way more about this whole thing than you have ever admitted before. And I swear you… if you don't spill out everything…" Drake began as his voice stumbled over itself. "Come on… SPILL IT!" He snapped out of the sudden.

Chris tightened his mouth before staring to the side as f to think about what to say. After another few seconds, he began to speak up again. "Alright! What I told you about Thirmongrung is all I know. But then again, there is a lot about my client and the task I have that you don't know." He saw that none of the people around him moved and he continued. "Basically, the main quest besides finding Thirmongrung is… to kill Lawrence."

Now that was something that neither Drake nor Sully could have seen coming. The Americans shortly stare at each other with drake shrugging his shoulders. "Now that's a story that I would like to hear. What do you know about him." Nate asked with interest.

Again, Chris folded his arms and leaned back against the chair. "You know, Lawrence was once part of this crazy secret society." Again, the eyebrows of the other four went upwards. "But some time ago, I don't know when and why, the dude went crazy and began splitting up from the rest of the cult." The Canadian had finally got to his feet and stared into the round. "It was about that time, that my client heard about the legend if Thirmongrung."

"Now, it was a simple task. Find the lost city and kill Lawrence right away." He continued with a slight sound of regret. "It was that easy and I was on a good way to finish. And that was when you showed up." Cortina finally said pointing his finger towards Drake,

For a short moment, Sully and Charlie made eye contact a bit out of composure. Yet they stopped and concentrated back on the Canadian. "The moment I told my client, the whole situation changed. They were the ones that I had contact with on the ship." Chris continued to talk while never taking his eyes off the American.

"What do they want from me, who are those guys that you got assigned by?" Nathan intervened while asking out of what was going on. "If nobody knew of the existence of the Thangnamgrah and Thimongrung, how in the world did your client found out about it?"

Chris thought for a short moment and then got back in trying to explain. "You got that right. Until Lawrence found out about the city, there was nothing. Not until he found the first glimpses of that place in that hidden library in the London underground."

The moment he spoke out those last words, he saw all the other four men straighten up and darken their memes. Chris caught that and went on with speaking. "Did you really think that after killing Marlow and Talbot, that whole organization would tremble down and depart?" He half asked and half made clear while not trying to sound mocking.

Drake could already put the pieces together in his mind. "And I guess that there has been some extra to your assignment?!" he asked but then didn't since he already knew the answer he was going to get.

"You can say that again, I did not expect to come across you and I didn't plan to. But once I informed my clients about that. They gave me something extra in order… well… to execute you." Chris shrugged his shoulders and waved his arms up and down before clapping down on his legs.

Right away, he noticed how the other three except Nathan tensed up and never took their eyes off from the Canadian. But he kept his position and stared back. "Yet before you come to any conclusions. I'm still weighing my options."

Yet Nathan, Sully, Chloe and Charlie didn't buy any of that and kept closing in on them. Drake was only a few more inches away from Cortina as he told him in a silent and low voice. "If you ever come near me or my friends again, I'm going to kill you myself." Daggers exchanged between the two men and Drake turned away from him. "And now… get out of my sight."

Chris waited for a second and folded his arms in front of his chest. "You know, since I get the feeling that Lawrence might be close by, there is a slight chance of you needing me after all." He eyed him with the corner of his eye and shifted his gaze to Cutter and Victor once in a while.

It took a few seconds before the American turned around again with fury in his eyes. "Why should I even dare to _consider_ needing your help? After you just said that you have been ordered to kill me!"

"I told you I'm still weighing my options."

"Whatever! I trusted you once. It seemed like you didn't want to kill me back then, but how in the world do you expect me to trust you?" Nathan turned away from him further and Chris brought his hand to his hips while staring to the ground.

After a few seconds, he glared back up while raising one eyebrow. "What did you want in that club anyway? Last time I checked, you are married." The heaviness of those words dropped on the shoulders of Nathan and the mercenary didn't have to think twice about what was going on.

The face of the American told him everything that he needed to know. "I see, and that's why you wanted to have a trade with a gun dealer!?" he half said and half asked. Since there were no words of denial coming from the other four, he quickly came again and continued. "You know that I can get you what you need!?" It wasn't so much of a question as more of an offer.

Nathan turned around and stared with mistrusting eyes and disbelieve at the buzz cut man. Right away, Chloe noticed what was going and right away raised her voice. "Nate! Don't!" She warned him and Drake twisted his head from side to side with defeated and frustrated gaze.

To his side, Chris still kept talking. "I know that I let you down before, and I am sorry for that. But I want to find Thirmongrung just as much as you, beside killing Lawrence, and you… won't get to the city without me."

That was the point where Nathan, Charlie and the others changed their faces to surprise and they stared straight at the Canadian while their eyeballs almost popped out. In the back, Chloe almost laughed out with sarcasm. "Now… that something new for change. I don't recall you being well informed about Thirmongrung when we met in India. And now you claim that we, the ones that found out everything about the lost city, you have one of the pieces that we need!?"

It wasn't at anything that the other three thought the same thing about the recent information from the Canadian. But Chris stayed calm and began trying to explain. When I came across that page in the book in London, I saw page of paper with an old scheme of a labyrinth. Or… more like a mapping of underground tunnels and caves."

Not sure what to make of it again, Nathan and Chloe stared at each other before bringing both of their eyes back on the mercenary. "And we should believe you with this one?" They heard Sully call from the sight and only saw the sly smirk of Cortina.

"You can believe it or not… but the fact remains. You're going to need some weapons in order for your quests… and maybe some extra who knows how to use them." Chris replied and put his arms behind his back before padding over the ground for a few short times. "So what is it going to be?"

Nathan kept pondering and pondering while stepping on the place and moving his eyes hectically over the ground and ceiling. His eyes locked on Chris and then on the doubting eyes of Chloe. The decision he was about to make was far from being easy. Up to this point, he had been betrayed and lied to by the Canadian for numerous times. But then again… he had a point.

"Alright Chris… but this is your last chance. And that only because I have no time to search for another arms dealer instead of you. Cross me again… and I will drown you in the dirty waters of this place.

* * *

It was early in the morning that Elena awoke in the apartment of the hotel she was held captive inside. The blonde woman raised up from the bed she was chained to and stared towards the door of the bedroom where she could hear noises and voices from the living room. She straightened her heir and as she leaned her forward to catch up some of the words from the other side.

She could hear two voices coming from the living room. One of them was completely enraged and the other one was short of patience. It didn't take long and Elena realized that it was Chen that was talking out loud.

"Who would have thought that one group of silly Americans could be so hard to kill." Chen said in rage as he slammed his fist on the table of the room while grunting out to himself and the man that was standing just a few feet away of the Asian.

Lawrence had his arms folded as he wore a simple tight black sweater and black trousers. His face spoke all upset mood and the anger he could think of. "This is the same lack of patience and delicateness that you lacked in India when you wanted to bring Nathan and Cortina to an end." He began without knowing that Elena in the other room was tensed up from the beginning.

"Do you have any idea of what you cost us in time and man power? There is a reason why we took a hostage and agreed to a prisoner exchange. And the next thing I find out about is that you had one of your men get in contact with Drake and his partners and right away decide to liquidate them. But what do you get…? We lost them." The American said finally getting to the point he was attempting in the first place.

"What in the world were you thinking?" He then asked waving his arms to the side in a demanding way.

But all he received from Chen was just another shrug with his shoulders and an angry glare to the bearded one. "I did what needed to be done, get rid of them when you have the chance and not give them the space to come up with something. Like you did in India." It was almost as challenging what he said than what he heard.

Even from the other side of the door, Elena could hear how the tension between the two got bigger and bigger with every second. Yet neither Taylor nor Chen realized that she was listening. And with that, he tightened his voice and his argumentation. "Like so often, you lack the sight to see things that happen in front of you."

He stepped around the table until he reached a small cupboard at the wall sowing some bottles and glasses contained for alcohol. But before he could reach one of the bottles again, he turned around and stared straight into the eyes of the Asian. "And what would have happen if you have succeeded? Do you think that Drake is carrying the information about Thirmongrung with him? What would have happened if you would have and killed him and had no idea how to find the manuscripts?"

As much as Chen wanted to counter on that one, it was yet again a moment where he had his air knocked out from the start. He had nothing that he could reply sicne he thought about it again and had nothing that he could come up with.

"Now that's what I thought. So… for the next time and the times beyond, stop trying to think… and let me take the lead on this one." His voice was demanding and not the slightest bit with interest in order to talk reasonable with Chen. "And remember why I hired… or better… agreed to cooperate with you in the first place."

Chen kept staying in his position while he folded his arms. "Because you need some extra muscle since you feared that you old pals would come after you. And because I have inside on the last bits that you need in order to reach the final location of Thirmongrung. And I dare you to remember _that!"_

The last words sounded equally threatening to the American than he had received before. "Mr. Chen… I may have the disadvantage of being new to the world of Thai mythology, but I got to say that even I have been in these situations before."

Chen rolled his eyes before he turned around for a short time before he got hold back on his wrist. "The amrita will be mine… and neither Mr. Drake or your incompetence will get into my way." He said with a last warning. After a few seconds of the two staring into each other's before the Asian pulled away and walked around the corner.

He waited before he was out of hearing range before he spoke out loud more to himself than to anyone that could possibly eavesdrop. "Fool, keep your stupid Amrita. You have no idea what the real secret of Thirmongrung is about."

Seeing as how the conversation on the other door stopped, Elena got back into bed unable to do anything more. If it wouldn't have been for the Asian to be really angry that his plan failed, she would have began to cry. But then again, she knew that Nate and the others were still alive and well. And with every second that kept on going by, she knew that right in this moment, they were working on a plan to screw these two over.

* * *

It was early in the morning and the night still lied over the city. It was interesting to see that the noise of the streets below were still extremely noisy. Red and white lines showed the people the driving directions on the streets going through Bangkok. Nathan stood on a roof top with his hands intertwined in each other while he kept his gaze directed on the ground.

His gaze was empty and sad while he rubbed the insides of his hands against each other. For a short moment, he closed his eyes and think about the recent events that happened and the ones that were about to come.

"Thought I would find you out here." He heard a noise behind him and right away saw the sight of Victor Sullivan coming directly his way. He walked over to his long time friend with a worried expression as he stopped and leaned against the railing without taking eye contact with Drake. "Nice night!" he added and the duo stared upwards onto the star sprinkled sky.

Sully realized that Nathan wasn't really in the mood for that kind of small talk. He took a sip from a glass of whiskey before turning around to him. "Come on Kid, what's on your mind?"

He thought for a moment and then stared up to the sky again before answering. "The last hours and their events made me think. Think about certain parts in my life." He stared back down on the street below. "Remember when we first met?" Nate asked towards Sullivan referring to Elena and their hunt for El Dorado.

The grey haired man though for a short moment and then chuckled a little bit. "Yeah! Once again, I met someone that was acquainted with you under fire." He finished under laughter and with Drake slightly tilting his head to the side.

Even though he didn't feel like it, he joined in for a short moment. But then he stopped and thought about the previous events of his life. "I remember when I told you the story of how we found you… that she was the one that wanted to keep going and that she was the one that wanted to find El Dorado the most. When I think back how I was the one saving my head and avoiding the danger back then… a lot has changed since that."

His voice got more and more serious and he continued. "Back then, she was just as adventures as I have been for most of my life. Yet the difference between me and her is that she grew up."

Right away, Sully raised his eyebrows and folded his arms trying to get what his friend was getting at. "Where as I was the one that constantly kept himself around with the wrong and shady crowd, she actually achieved something in her life. She wanted to do something good, where as I… I kept doing what I did… being a thief."

_Oh you got to be kidding me?_ Sully thought and had a feeling that the giant blaming himself moment was going to come.

"And what else did I do, I dragged her through the Himalaya and almost got her killed by a grenade and gunfire numerous times. I guess that was the part where she decided that she wanted to ditch this life. But then again, I drag into our hunt for Ubar and I get her shot again, eaten by spiders and almost blown up while she tries to hop on to a plane."

Sully could tell that Nathan was struggling to comprehend what has happened to the group and him for the last weeks again. Yet he didn't dare to say anything and instead waiting for his pal to finish with his rant. "Back then, she told me numerous times to just let one go, just leave this life behind. But I couldn't. I didn't even listen back in Yemen when she told me that I should. And we have the same thing here again. And now, it has finally happened. I dragged her into something that she had no business in from the very get go."

After that, Nathan turned back to the side towards his friend and stared deeply into his eyes while looking defeat and completely out of composure. "You advised to let this one slide, but I didn't want to. Why can't I just let this go?"

This was the point for Sullivan to get back into the conversation and speak out to Nathan. "You know when I asked you back in France about doing this for the right reason? See the thing here is… you were in for the right reason. All the things you have done over the last years, had been in some way about the right reason. Even though we have always chased for treasure in the places we discovered, we have been doing the right thing in the end."

Drake raised his eyebrows and eyed with the corners of his orbs. But Sully continued. "We didn't find the fourth Labyrinth for treasure, that was one side effect, but we did it to help Jada and the things her father has done. And you were there to rescue me, and after we found out what was going on in there, we did the right thing and destroyed the stuff that turned people crazy."

Even though that was a good point the older American had, he went on with his speech. "And even though we did go for El Dorado, Shambala and Ubar to find treasure and fortunes, we always ended up saving the world. Burying that diabolical thing in the ocean, destroying the urn with the Djinn and blowing up the resin that turns people into maniacs."

He put his arm around his pal and went on. "You see kid, you always did the right thing in the end. And remember what you told me back when you first heard about this thing. You didn't want to go after Thirmongrung because the money… you wanted because you got the hint that there was something fishy going on with Lawrence and those goons of him."

Thos words after all made the American feel better, but then again it didn't make his mood go all high five within seconds. "And yet, here we are… thinking about how to free Elena from some creepy and evil business man." He sighed. "No to mention that I have surrounded myself with someone that is going to get paid for killing me, and still hasn't decided if he should or not."

"That's why you got us." Sully added and chuckled while padding Nate on the back. "We gonna show these douches how we do thing sour own way."

For a short moment, Nathan joined in on the scenery with both of them turned around. "C'mon kid let's get some sleep." Sully shoved the door open and the duo stepped in to the room of a hotel and found Chloe along the other two and a game of cards.

The Australian woman stared up as Sully and Nate passed by them. "What have you been up to out there?" She asked in an energetic voice while stacking up some chips in front of her and the other two throwing their cards on the table in defeat.

Sully turned around to her and simply smiled at three. "Just some pep talk!"

And right in that moment, they heard the nose of a phone ringing and Drake right away stared at the other people in the room with a worried glare before picking it out of his pocket. He could see the picture of Elena which indicated that it was her that was calling him. With a slightly shaky hand, he pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear. "Yeah!"

"_Hello Mr. Drake!" _The voice of Lawrence appeared from the other end of the line. _First of all, I wanted to apologize for the latest events that you had to come across in the last hours. I am assuring you that I have nothing to do with it." _

Just like Drake, the rest of the group tensed up while getting off from their seats. "Cut the crap and get going. I have no desire to have any business with you further to the one I already have to. Tell me what you want." Nate demanded while the others got closer hearing every word the gangster said.

Nathan listened in to the words coming from the bearded man and only once in a while let out a _yeah_ or a _aha._ After it seemed that Taylor was finished, Drake spoke out again. "Alright I got it, now let me talk with her!" He demanded and Lawrence right away responded.

"_All in due time Mr. Drake! You bring the manuscripts, I bring the party guests."_ He answered and Drake could hear the laughter and smirk on the other end of the line before he simply hung up the phone.

Anger and frustration once again went through Drake and for a short moment, he felt the need and desire to shatter the phone directly on the floor. But then again, he restrained himself for a short time and then stared back at his friends with determined eyes. "They made their move… now we make ours.

* * *

Nothing else to say for this Chapter so... I hope you tune in next week. See ya!


	10. The exchange

Hello Everybody

Sorry for the delay, but since my Computer seems to make a Hobby of screwing me over, I have to be a bit creative about writing and posting my chaoters. THis was one of the earliest Scenes that I had in mind when I began planing this Story. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**- 10 -**

The exchange

* * *

The afternoon had just begun in the city of Bangkok. And what usually would have been a great and beautiful day for the rest of the people, turned out to be the most stressful in the life of Nathan Drake and his friends. The sun stood high in the air and even was going down for quite a short time.

It was the day Drake finally had to trade in the information he had gotten about the lost city Thirmongrung in order to get back the woman he loved the most. And right on that day, he found himself standing in the middle of a warehouse and industrial district set beside a small canal. Several high buildings stood on each side of the river which gave the whole scene a narrow and all in all cornered feeling.

Nathan didn't like this place at all. There were so many angles and blind corners of which these guys could come from. Something that he would have counted on if he would have chosen the location instead of his enemies.

But then again, that didn't mean that he wasn't prepared at all. While moving the manuscripts and documents around in his hands, Nathan adjusted the small head-set set in his right ear. "Alright Sully, can you hear me?" He then said while testing the ear piece and calling out to his friend.

"_Loud and clear kid!" _ It hailed through the communicator from the older American. Sully had taken a position in one of the higher buildings equipped with a sniper rifle and pointing directly on the spot where Drake was standing. Victor turned the binocular a little bit until he had the right adjustments to the weapon.

"Totally like you said, the place is crowded with corners and houses creating a lot of blind ankles." Sully added while he observed the man standing down below. "Hey uhm… just a quick reminder! Once the shit get's real, don't forget me up here." Sully then once again said more to anybody else listening than to Nathan.

"_Of course not!" _It came once again and as both could hear Chloe calling out to them. She again was sitting in a white van just a few corners away ready to floor the pedal if necessary. "And don't you forget to stick to the plan once." Chloe called back through the line right at Nathan still staying on his spot.

Once again, he directed his gaze once again to the small routes leading towards him. He was about to go over the plan again as he heard another voice ring through the ear piece. _"Could somebody explain to me why I have to be assigned with the homicidal dude here?" _

It was the voice of Charlie that range through their ears and made the Australian woman as well as the American chuckle a little but not without knowing what he meant. Cutter and Cortina sat together in one of the warehouses as both of the stared out of the windows with their eyes observing the streets and places outside.

Both of them were completely dressed in combat gear with Chris and Charlie wearing Kevlar vests under their black shirts. Chris reloaded his M4 that he carried while Charlie held out a pair of binoculars observing the area. "These lads can come from bloody everywhere." The English man said mostly to himself while the Canadian in the back smirked to himself.

"Then I guess we have to be on alert and react even within the slightest motion on sight." Cortina said eyeing him with the corners of his eyes.

Though the idea itself was quite alright, Charlie had something to say himself. "Right… and maybe ruin the whole surprise to force them to kill Elena. You would love that?" Cutter shot back at him and forced the mercenary to role his eyes.

While cocking a 9mm Berretta and storing it in his pistol belt, he sighed and then pulled out a knife worthy of Rambo which caused Charlie to shake back. "You know, when you have to survive for months and even years in the underground in this part of the world, you learn that improvising sometimes is the best way to handle things."

"But not if there's so much at stake like this time. And I dare you not to forget it!"

"_Would you guys keep it quiet? Or at least shut down the phones, you might have fun arguing right now… others have other things to worry about."_ Chloe called through the line right before the two men could go at each other further.

Charlie and Chris backed off from each other and put his left hand to his ear. "Alright sugareyes! We stop!" he called with a fake flirting tone through the headset before a small 'thank you' came from Sully and forced the two men to chuckle slightly.

But even though the other four were rather talkative, Nathan had no time nor the motivation to set in on the little argument, not even to stop it, he simply let his gaze wonder around again with his mind running a marathon. He checked the small water proof watch on his wrist as he began getting more and more impatient.

_Where are they dammit? _ He asked himself tapping with his shoe onto the ground and whirling off some dust. "Do you see anything Sully?" he called hoping that the American would have more luck with his higher position.

"Not yet! But I got the feeling that they are close by. Problem is that they could come from any direction." He replied and each one of the other could sense the tension that was growing inside each one of them.

Seeing as this was going nowhere, Drake turned back on observing his surroundings and the streets. But that was when he heard the sound of engines in the distance and he didn't have to think twice in order to find out who it was. "I think they are coming. Get ready!" Nathan called through the communication and tensed his body up even more. But then again, he had no idea where they were coming from, the street after all… were empty.

"_I still can't see them!" _Sully said while turning his head with his binoculars in every direction.

But in the meantime, the engine sounds got louder and louder while Nate slowly got a feeling where they were coming from. He slowly turned around just in time to see four motorboats coming to the shore. Right away, he began communicating. "Change of position, they're coming from the water." He said and already, Sully began lifting up his rifle and changing so he could stare down on the river.

Chris slowly pushed the door of the warehouse open and he along Charlie slowly stepped to the outside but waiting on the spot in a crouched position. Chris packed the knife away and dropped a small black bag on the ground before pulling out some reserve mag's in his gear.

None of this got noticed by Nathan who simply directed his eyes on the four boats stopping by and the people stepping off from. The first he noticed was a bunch of about three guys obviously belonging to Chen. The second one was filled with three men that were part of Lawrence's crew. The guys in the third one stayed on their ride, and the fourth… well there were the people that Drake expected.

The first one to get to solid ground was yet another of Lawrence's men, another one kept his position on the wheel. The next was Chen who pushed a blonde haired woman off the boat. For the first time since Denver he and Elena made eye contact. And for a quick moment, Drake wanted to pull out the gun he held and shoot his way to her. Either that or completely breaking together on the spot.

But instead, he tried to stay calm and raised his hand. "Hey honey!" He simply greeted which caught confused eyebrows from the two main bad guys.

She looked back at him with a slight bow of her head. "What's up Nate?" Even Nathan was relaxed to hear her being so relaxed, after all… she was the one getting kidnapped.

Obviously not quite sure how to deal with the situations, Lawrence rubbed his forehead and then spoke out to not only the other group but to rest as well. "Alright, since we have the greeting out of the way, we should get back to the part why we are here."

Chen pushed Elena forward a little bit rude which forced the American to grit his teeth a little bit. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Lawrence, he right away gave the Asian a wink of disapproval which made him stop. The bearded man simply offered his hands and smirked over to the treasure hunter. "Mr. Drake, we have waited enough time already. Just hand over the manuscripts."

Holding the folder with everything he had gathered together about Thirmongrung, he slowly walked over to the duo and handed it over. Chen took it right away holding on to the blonde haired woman and handing the documents over to Taylor. "I held my part of the bargain, now hold yours." Nathan challenged him and waited for Chen to release Elena.

Yet Lawrence kept going through the pages and observed them carefully. Once in a while he made eye contact with Drake but then again tilted his head down again. Yet in the meantime, Elena got somehow back into the spirit and started talking. "So Nate, is this one of your typical journeys again?" She asked not really interested but more with the intention to annoy the Asian at her side.

Seeing as how he could at least step into the game again, he shrugged his shoulders and replied. "Yeah, that about sums it up. Guess you have already met the douches of the day." He went on and pointed with his head to Chen and the other American.

"Watch it!" Chen called with short temper while showing the gun in his side.

But that wasn't enough for the two to stop as it was Elena's turn again. "Yep, while not the nicest company I had during my years knowing you, they are quite amusing to watch sometimes." She said leaning a bit forward as if to simulate she was whispering to him behind held up hands. "You know, with the constant bickering and arguing." She went on.

It was in that moment that Lawrence shut the book close with a bang since he also got annoyed by the conversation from the 'inferiors'. "I guess that's alright! I have to admit, you have been one worthy advisory." He finally let the insults go and simply nodded to Chen who finally let go of Elena. "I for my part hope to never see you again." Lawrence added staying on his spot.

Elena and Nate stared at each other and the blonde woman begun walking up to him. And she would have kept going if she wouldn't have seen something on her husband's shirt that totally kicked in her spider senses. At first, she didn't really see that. But then she saw the small red dot on the chest of Nate and she quickly put the pieces together.

"Nate… Nate LOOK OUT!" She screamed and threw herself at him. But it was too late as the sound of a bullet ran through the air. Drake shrieked out in pain and fell backwards. "NOOO!" Elena screamed as she landed on the chest of him.

The American grunted in pain while every single person present got in motion. "SNIPER!" Sully shouted from his position and immediately locked his rifle on the buildings ahead. "Must have come from the other side of the river."

Down below, Charlie and Chris got up from their spots. "That's our cue!" The Canadian shouted and raised his M4 to get into battle while Charlie held out his MP5. _I'm on my way! _They heard Chloe call through the headset as she started the van.

Up ahead, Sully still searched for the sniper and searched every window and roof he could see. "I still don't have a lock on him. Be careful once you get into the scene." He called to the two men rushing in by feet. Up ahead, he saw one of the gangsters coming towards Nathan and Elena again and he quickly shifted his view to let out a shot hitting the man directly in the head and forcing him to drop to the ground. "I revealed my presence!" He said to make sure Chris and Charlie knew what they were up against.

In the middle of all this, Elena still leaned in on Drake as she tried to think straight knowing that he got hit by the bullet. Tears reached her eyes as she felt his cheek and his chest. _No no no, please don't!_ She thought while shaking his head hectically.

Loud coughing and a gasp of pain reached her ear and she quickly stared down to see Nathan stare at her and moving his eyes. "I'm okay!" he said quickly and put one of the buttons of his shirt open to reveal a Kevlar vest underneath. Elena sobbed for a short moment in relief but only to be shoved aside and be replaced with Chen staring at the American.

"I failed to kill you once, and I will not do it again." he said and pointed his gun at him. But he didn't know that Sully had a lock on him as well and was about shot himself. But then again, he spotted a small blink caught within his eyes.

Thanks to his still very good reflexes, eh ducked down and barely dodged the bullet heading his way. Quickly, he brought his rifle back up and pointed it towards the window he saw the blinking coming from.

Down below, Drake and Elena stared in the eyes of the Asian before Elena rushed up and hammered her fist into the face of Chen. Drake used his boots to kick him in the guts right before gunfire came from behind.

Chris and Charlie had their rifles pointed at the henchmen while firing ahead and striking down a group of three. But right in that moment, Chen got back up and pulled Elena once again on her hair. Lawrence hid behind a box pulling out a gun by himself and pointing it towards the two armed guys coming their way.

Drake wanted to get up as he saw Elena getting pulled back into the direction of the boats. He was back on his feet and then saw one of the men pointing his gun at him. But in the last moment before he could fire, Chris grabbed him from behind and pulled him behind cover.

"What are you doing?" He screamed in anger and frustration as he saw his wife being pulled away from him again. Charlie in the meantime kept gun pointed at the men shooting another one in the chest. "We have to get them!" Nathan yelled before Chris handed another gun.

Sully had finally found the sniper and already had a lock on. The man waited in one of the buildings on the other side while he waited for the three men down below. But that was all the time Sully needed. With a short moment, eh shot directly at the men in the window who fell together on the spot. "I got him, you good to go."

Seeing as how their men were getting decimated by every second, he, Chen and one guy left jumped on the boat and started their engine. Drake didn't waste any as he stormed for the other boat that currently had no operator. _"I got you covered Kid!" _Sully called and Nathan rushed forward.

Charlie and Chris, though having second thoughts about that, fired on the goons with the American treasure hunter storming through and jumping directly on the other boat. It was just in time that the other two drove off with Drake giving chase right away. The other two stayed behind and fired. "Hey Sully! Nate's chasing them over the river." Charlie called in not only to Sully but also to to Chloe.

"_Got it! Chloe pick me up. I know where to go in order to catch them."_ He replied while Chris pulled on the collar of Cutter.

"You're with me Limey!" Chris said and opened fire again. Seeing that this was going nowhere, he pulled out a grenade and threw it right at their enemies. A short explosion appeared and the path was clear. "Let's get them!" He said before running along and pulling Charlie with him.

"You know, I have a certain antipathy against water." Cutter replied shortly showing a little resistance against the plan of the Canadian.

"Come on! Move it Cutter!"

* * *

Drake was willing to not lose them again. With all the determination he needed, he kept going trying to catch on with the rest of the goons. It didn't take long and the gangster begun shooting at him. But then again, that was nothing new.

Up ahead, Lawrence had a hard time keeping Elena under control who began kicking and fighting back. "Why in the world? Of all the things that could happen to me…." He said and finally delivered a punch to the head of Elena which forced her to drop to the ground. Lawrence didn't waste any time and pulled out a bunch of handcuffs to chain her to a steel hold.

While one of the henchmen kept driving, Chen turned around and pointed his Para 9mm at the American and firing just like the other group on the other boat. Nathan ducked and then saw the other group of men approaching him.

_Perfect! _He thought as he saw the other guys coming closer with their SMG's. Nathan ducked behind the little cover that the boat could provide before firing back. Bullets collided with the outside wall of the boat and sparks blew everywhere with him leaning flat to the ground.

Behind the three boats, Charlie and Chris had hijacked the fourth one with the Englishmen driving and the Canadian lying above on the front and firing. "Give it more speed Cutter, we're… surprisingly catching on." He thought to himself once again thinking about some of the clichés he knew from the movies he often saw as a kid.

"What did you say?" Cutter asked and then realized that the boat of henchmen had turned their attention to the duo ad fired on them. "Never mind!"

Nathan on the other hand was surprised to see that the fire from the henchmen had stopped shooting at him, but instead on the other boat. "Alright you asshole, now it's my turn." He said as he picked up his speed and caught up with them. The boats were now side by side and Drake stared over to them.

The two groups were rushing through the river and the city of the street with an insane speed (think the boat chase from Revenge of the warrior (Tom yum goong)). The small wooden cabins placed all around the shores with the waves caused by the boats causing people to shake off and fall down from it. Nate stared to the side and made eye contact Lawrence and Elena.

Within the last seconds, he saw that he had pulled the gun and Drake quickly pulled his boat so that he bumped into the other one. While the bearded one lost his orientation for a short moment. Right away, he got in line but then noticed the Asian standing on the edge of the boat and smirking down o him.

If Drake wouldn't have been busy trying to keep things straight, he was helpless to see Chen firing a full salve out of a SMG at the motor and shooting right through it. Nathan wasn't even finished with his curses as he noticed the boat catching fire. "Son of a bitch!" He said to himself and began to panic since he knew how these things usually turned out in his life. He thought

"What are you waiting for?" He heard a voice from the side and stared sideward as he spotted Charlie and Chris driving the third one and waiting for him to jump over. Smoke and Fire now completely surrounded the American treasure hunter and he quickly moved away and jumped over the small gap between the two boats.

With a loud bang, he landed hard on top and actually knocked his chin on the boat before staring directly into the eyes of the Canadian mercenary. Chris simply stared back at the man and shrugged his shoulder. "Thanks for dropping in!" He said before Nathan turned back around for Charlie.

"Floor it Charlie, we have to catch one!" Nate then called with his eyes drifting off to the side and then seeing the last boat with the minions coming in from the right. "Chris! Keep them busy, I go for Lawrence and Chen."

As if on cue, the Canadian pulled out another bunch of grenades before throwing them directly into the direction of their persuiters. The water in front of them exploded and the boat had to detour slightly with the water spraying all around them and backing off from them. Nathan once again ran forth and lied down beside Chris as they could see the other boat in front of them and realizing they were again on closing in.

In front, Lawrence stared back on them and rolled his eyes while hammering his fist on top of the boat. "I can't believe that he is still following us. Does this guy ever know when to quit?" he asked while Chen went in on it being just as annoyed as the other one.

"Or when to die?"

The only one that wasn't annoyed in any sort but found the whole situation rather amusing. "You didn't even get to the part where he gets really upset with you." She added and both of them stared at her.

But then Chen quickly moved towards the small bag that lied in the corner as he brought out a long and black colored bag. Right away, he removed the packaging and revealed another sniper rifle that was a little bigger than the one Sully or the other sniper was.

Back with Nate and the others, Chris had his gun directed on the boat while he turned his head slightly towards the American. "You know I could stop them, you know… one single shot in the engine block." He suggested and didn't hide the fact that he in some sort sang that one.

"And risk the thing to blow up or go out of control and kill all of them. No way!" He said and slammed his fist on the top. "Just get me close enough and I do the rest." He said and the now got closer and closer.

They picked up their speed again and Drake got slightly up ready to jump straight onto the other boat while on full speed. The river got more and more narrow. Just one small crash could mean for the boat out of control and crash right into one of the wooden cabin on the side. Charlie had almost reached the other boat when the two groups spotted a swimming market crossing the river and staring at the duo with shook.

"LOOK OUT!" Nathan called and Charlie moved the wheel to the side with both of them avoiding the other one. All breathed for short moment and then Chris and Charlie saw the Asian pointing with the big sniper rifle at them before he shot.

The bullet hit the engine block and smoke began to appear from it. Chris stared directly into the eyes of the treasure hunter with the mercenary smiling. "Huh, what do you know… one single shot in the engine block." He said and the noticed Nathan standing up. "What the…" He said but didn't get any further with Drake jumping directly onto the other boat.

It was in that moment that the engine died on the other two and they had to stop. But that was all they needed in order for Nathan to finally catching up with the bad guys. Drake was right on top of the boat and kicked the completely surprised Chen on the head sending him flying over the standing area and ramming in the small wall.

Lawrence got right in and threw another punch towards the American who ducked underneath. Chris brought his fist up and knocked him on the chin before kicking him in the stomach and going for another one.

But the bearded man grabbed his arm and threw him around which send him sliding over the engine top while going after him. But Nathan got back up in his typical street fighting style and hitting the American with hid head first before throwing himself at him and with both of them sliding back towards the steering wheel.

Chen quickly though about what was going on and he slowly pulled the box behind the wheel open and right away pulling on some wires and mechanisms. Sparks came out from the aggregate and he could already tell the steering was compromised.

The boat slighted set course to the side which caught everybody by surprise and forced Nathan rolled off from the older American and rolling to the side. It was enough time for the Lawrence to pulla gun and directing it straight at the treasure hunter. "Enough!" He said and Nate stopped right away and raised his hands.

Meanwhile, Chen had brought out a radio and spoke something in Thai to someone on the other line. Chris didn't dare to move since he was once again risked getting shot. He slightly realized that one shore of the river was getting smaller was getting bigger. And then there was one other noise that reached his ear.

And that was when he realized the chopper that came flying in on the boat and soon was on the same level as the vehicle he was currently on. Drake almost couldn't believe what he was seeing right before Lawrence and Chen held on to the pipes of the aircraft. "Farewell… Mr. Drake!" he said in a final mocking tone towards his enemy.

Within seconds, and Lawrence still directing his gun at the American. The helicopter lifted up and flew off leaving Drake and Elena back on the boat out of control. But Nathan had no time for that right now, he right away ran over to his wife and kneeled down beside her. "We got to get out of here!" He called and then spotted the position in which Elena was at the moment.

"Oh shit!" He said and felt the pipe which Elena was cuffed to. The boat drove more and more to the side and was now heading directly to the shore and the houses placed there. "We have to get you out of there…" Nathan called and pulled on the steel hold while Elena tried to tap on her shoulder.

"Uhm… Nate!" She said calmly yet without getting any reaction from the man.

In the meantime, Drake got more and more nervous and started to lose his temper. With all his power, he sat down and kicked against the hold hoping to get it off the holding. He got up and then pulled on the wheel and the brakes, but nothing seemed to work as he panicked even slightly more. "I can't stop it!"

"Nate!"

Drake was back with another pipe as he kept hammering on the hold as hard as he could. "Why… won't… it… get loose?" Drake asked through gasps and before turning around searching for anything that he could use to break the handcuffs.

"Nate!"

But again, he wasn't listening, yet he only had small time left before they were going to crash. Finally he pulled the joker and took the gun that was lying on the ground before pointing at the cuffs around Elena's wrist. "Alright, stay calm."

"NATE!" She finally screamed and Nathan stared at her with complete shock and surprise. "I… have the keys for the cuffs in my pockets, I just can't reach them." She said and caught her husband completely by surprise.

Drake simply stared at her before he asked out slowly and perplex. "When!?"

Though the situation was not suited for that, she smirked and answered. "Right after he pushed me down her and right before he cuffed me."

Again, Nathan wasted no time and searched the pockets of her pants for the keys and quickly found them in the right side pocket. Right away, he released her and the two stood. Drake and Elena stared up ahead and realized how fe time they had left.

_5… 4… _

Both quickly stared at each other and stared at each other while the same thought ran through their minds.

_3… 2…_

Right away, Elena grabbed Nathan's hand and the two ran for the edge and jumped straight out of the speeding boat to land in the waters of the river right when the boat ran into one of the houses and crashing through the wall. The duo was still under water as debris and wooden parts flew through the air moments before the house began to explode.

The fire could be seen everywhere and the broken woody parts landed all around the spot Elena and Nathan had jumped in moments ago. Smoke was everywhere by the time the two got back up to the surface. Both shook their heads and then stared at each other. "Wow! That could have been us!" He added quickly before the duo swam a little more to the shore until they could stand in the water but with still in water to their necks.

For the first time in quite a while, they began to relax as Elena and Nathan met in the river with the blonde woman throwing her arms around his neck. "I thought I would never see you again." Drake said as he leaned into her and rubbed her back while resting his head on her shoulder.

Elena for her part did the same before replying in an exhausted but relieved voice. "So did I Nate, so did I!" The moment last for quite a while before the two stared into each other's eyes again and then leaning in for a kiss.

But the moment never came since both of them could hear a voice from the distance that was strangely… singing. _"Car ton bras sait porter l'epée, il sait porter la croix." _They heard and saw Charlie and Chris coming their way on what Nathan believed was the last boat that the two had been fighting of the last moment he saw them.

Charlie was still driving and Chris had his foot on the bow of the ship and his fists pressed into his hips in an heroic pose. And he was the one that kept singing. _"Ton histoire est une epopee, des plus brilliants exploits. God keep our land, glorious and free. Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee."_

Nathan and Elena laughed as they saw the sight in front of them right when the mercenary wrapped the song. _"OH Canada, we stand on guard for thee!"_ They stopped just a few feet away from them and the both of them called over to the duo.

"What's up lads, need a ride!" Cutter asked right before both Americans swam over to the boat and quickly climbed on board with the other men helped them up. Still exhausted, Elena and Drake simply sat down on the edge of the boat while Cutter drove the boat back to meet up with Chloe and Sully.


	11. One more time

Hi everybody!

We're heading onto the last straight of this Story. Should be about five chapters including this. I plan to get finished writing by the end of next week (hoping that my Computer can be fixed and I don't have toborrow other people's Laptops to post stuff.

But uü till then, I am stuck to do nothing and just try to be onschedule with Releases.

* * *

**- 11 -**

One last time

* * *

After finally being back together with everyone, the whole group around Sully and Drake got back towards the hotel where they had made up the plans for the exchange after the ambush in the night club. It was the first time the troop had seen each other in this form since the departure from Denver.

Right away, Elena and Sully embraced each other while Chloe padded her on the back. "Glad you're alright!" Sully said and enjoyed the fact of the gang being reunited. Charlie, Drake and Chris kept themselves in the back with the treasure hunter being a bit more going to the front. It was a common moment for each one to relax and et their tension drop a little bit. Something that Drake needs since his mind was going back to Lawrence and Chen and the journey ahead.

After Sully backed off, Chloe stepped in and did the same before Elena turned over to Charlie and Chris. "Thanks guys or bailing me out." She remarked and hugged Cutter just as well as the Canadian mercenary before stepping right beside Nathan again.

Chloe and the others chuckled before she answered him. "Nothing to thank us for." She simply said while Sully lightened another cigar.

For a short time, there was a moment of silence which cut off by Elena bringing the conversation back on the obvious things that kept going on. "Well… here we are. And given that fact how upset these guys have been at you. You did a really good job." She continued directing her gaze towards her husband rubbing his head clean with a towel.

Of course, the first thing that Nate and the others had done (besides getting loose of all the armory and equipment) was getting a shower from the not really that clean water that was floating through the city of Bangkok. Charlie, Chris and Chloe sat down on the couch in the middle of the apartment. While Sully walked over to the bar and began mixing a drink for himself.

"So… what's next?" The grey haired man asked while he turned towards the group of people sitting together in the room. "After all, we basically ripped the gate to Thirmongrung wide open." He added while he slowly walked over to one of the chair placed on the other side of the table in the middle.

Nathan stopped behind his wife who sat down in a chair in front before he laid a hand on her shoulder before replying to his friend. "But then again, you did copy the important parts of the books?" He half asked and half said out loud as he knew about that plan.

"Of course." He replied while he brought the cigar back to his mouth.

"But do we really think it is the best way to go after them once again. I mean…" she started and turned her gaze on the blonde woman at the side before she continued. "… we already had a lot to lose to this point, not to mention the events that happened in India."

Everyone in the room realized by now what had happened to Nathan, Chris and Chloe when they were in Cochin. But then again, Chris was the one that stepped up and talked out to the others. "Well, I don't know what you guys are up to… but I am going after them. I still got some payment to take care of. And I was hoping that you would come with me." He said tilting his head into Nate's direction.

Though he didn't meant it that way, all the others realized immediately what that was going to mean. "Now that's something for a change. Having the man that you are supposed to kill right next to you while you are going after another man that you are getting paid to kill. I don't know how one is supposed to accept to that offer.

"I accept!"

All in the room shook up as they saw Nathan standing up and folding his arms as if to say 'who's with me?' Charlie and Chloe got to their feet and immediately extracted their arms in confusion. Even Sully was a bit taken aback given the conversation they had just the other night. "Are you seriously considering this?" The Australian woman asked at the top of her voice.

But Nathan stood in his place making a calming motion with his left hand. "Listen!" he began and right away stared at Sullivan. "I know what I said before and how I regretted going on this trip. But this is something that I have to end by myself. I just can't allow Lawrence and Chen to reach Thirmongrung. I got the feeling that this is not going to end well."

Charlie stood up as well as he stared into the round as well. "So… what does it consider us? Let him have his bloody Amrita and get immortal, he's just some rich guy that started to become a mobster." He added while he searched the eyes of Chloe for approval.

But then again, Nate and Elena were right away at him with the blonde woman speaking back. "Though I have no idea what this is all about, but I got the feeling that there is far more to this than you think." She waited for anybody reply. But since there was nothing coming, she continued. "Some of the things that Chen kept saying made me really uncomfortable for a few times."

"What kind of things?" Sully asked from his spot interested to see what happened with their enemies during her capture.

Elena waited for a short moment before answering. "You know, those two never really stop arguing. Lawrence constantly insults Chen for his lower intellect where as Chen calls Lawrence weak through most of the time. And while Lawrence is after something that is called the… Am- am… Amrita, not sure what that is, Chen keeps talking about Lawrence knowing nothing about the real secrets of the city."

The others got quite interested since this actually played in with the suggestions that Chris had to make the other day. Sully folded his arms and turned around to the rest. "So… our little gun for hire was right, Chen really has his own agenda that he is following." He said and received nods from the rest.

"And that's why I have to keep going. We still don't have the complete idea about what the other secret of Thirmongrung is. And I got the feeling that doing nothing is the wrongest thing we could do right now." Nathan replied and sat down on the armrest of the chair Elena sat in.

He was shortly followed by Chris who got up and blew into the same horn than the American. "And I still have that huge amount of money to recover." He went in on a lighter note with a short joke at the end.

Chris and Nathan stared at each other as if the last weeks didn't happen after all, both had the same enthusiasm in their eyes that they had in the beginning. But then again, there were Charlie and Chloe going in against that. "Nate, do you realize that you have just gotten back from rescuing your wife from a hostile mobster and his gang. Something that you felt guilty for over the last days. And now you want to go on with this quest… and all of that with a guy who gets paid to kill you?"

"I'm still weighing my options." Chris replied shortly without Chloe even realizing it.

The Canadian felt a figure stepping beside him and didn't have to think twice to know that it was Charlie. "You can say what you want mate, but that doesn't change the fact that you got offered some money for it. And just seconds ago, you said that money was everything that you were after."

Chloe and Cutter then turned on to Sully and Elena as if to expect support from them. "Why don't you two say something?" She asked with the blonde woman and the grey haired man staring at each other.

"As much as I hate to admit it. We are the only ones that can stop him from achieving his goal." Sully said catching both Chloe and Charlie by surprise. "I know that I was for the part of letting this one slide. But after witnessing what happened in the last days. I got the feeling that this is once again one of those adventures to save the world." He finally admitted and Nathan gave his friend an approving nod.

Elena for her part glanced to the side and then to the ground before she brought her own two cents into it. "I hate to admit it as well, but I guess we have to go after them."

At that point, Nathan raised his eyebrow and stared at his wife. "What do you mean…_ we_!?" He said with the corner of his eye and folded his arms.

Right away, she knew where this was going and shifter her gaze around nervously. "Well… we… you… Charlie, Chloe, me…!"

"Hold it right there!" Drake immediately interrupted her and stepped right in front as if to spit out authority. "Now Elena, I know that you somehow want some revenge on these guys as well. But please… I have no idea how many of these goons Lawrence brings up against us, but you have been through enough right now."

Sully and Charlie slowly backed off from the couple while Chris kept gazing at them with confusion. "No way Nate, I will not get sidelined again. Not since I'm already here."

But that wasn't at all the intention that Nathan had. He simply stared to the side and put together the right response in his head. "Elena please, how often have you told me to leave this life behind. And I'm going, I promise."

The tone in his voice got really serious and gentle as he grabbed the shoulders of her. "And I want to spent this life with you. I thought I would see you never again for days now. Please… let me do this… alone." He leaned forward and kissed her as the other ones just stared at them with sympathy.

After they released each other, Drake turned around to stare at the other parts of the group. H walked over to the mercenary. "So, how do we go from here?" He asked and rested his hands into his hips.

Chris pondered for a little while and then replied. "The way I see it, you know the name of the graveyard, I know the name of the grave." He answered with a chuckle and offered his hand to the American who stared at it.

But Nathan never went around and shook. Instead he simply walked away from him while giving him an icy glare. "I will never do that. We solve this… and go our separate ways." H added with a sudden rush of distance and dislike for the buzz cut man.

"Actually, there are four!" Both men turned around to find Chloe and Charlie staring at them showing that they were ready to go with them. "Before either Chris or Nate could say anything. Chloe answered for them. "You're going to need a pilot and driver to get there, and maybe some extra gun." She said before she looked up to Charlie who smirked and wrapped an arm around the woman in a joking way.

"I am not going to leave you alone with that guy. Besides, I didn't come all this way for nothing."

All six smirked at each other while Sully stood in the back and mixed another drink. "I'm staying behind if you please. I actually have to rest from the last days."

So it was settled, since Lawrence and Chen probably had a huge head start, Nathan and Chris were determined to find Thirmongrung before them. Besides…none of them knew how to get through the underground caves and tunnels without the map of Cortina.

* * *

**Northern Thailand, three days later**

When it came to the landscape of Northern Thailand, it was nothing like the southern part of the country. It was a landscape completely influenced by the giant mountains that were set in this kind of the country. The area in which Nathan and his friends were about to be dropped in was completely covered with trees.

Though in modern times there was barely a part of the world that wasn't discovered by mankind, there were some part in this part of the country that were named to have mystical purposes. Many people believed that in one of these mountains was named to be the holy mountain Meru.

A small black colored helicopter flew over the woods and forests. The morning sun reflected on the outer side and on the glasses which forced the pilot to put on a pair of sunglasses in order to see where to fly to. On board of this aircraft were exactly four people.

The first one was buzz cut man with a beard dressed in a black shirt along with black pants and combat boots. A Kevlar vest was et around his torso as well as various belts for various types of weapons. Though the side door was closed, he could stare to the outside and kept his eyes locked on the forest which they were passing by.

Right next to him sat a almost bald man with a really unique chin wearing an Army green shirt with a pair of blue jeans and belt for two handguns. In his lab lied an MP5, a weapon which he had gotten used to over the last days. Unlike Chris Cortina beside him, Charlie Cutter wore his Kevlar vest underneath his shirt which gave him a bit more freedom on the outside.

Up in front on the right seat sat Nathan Drake, wearing a dark grey sweater with the sleeves pulled back to his elbows like he usually did along with a harness for his own weapons and magazines. He for his part packed a KAL which he had placed on the side and leaning against the door.

And last but not least, there was Chloe wearing a simple black top where one could see the bullet proof vest underneath and the small harness carrying her Para 9mm. She didn't have a SMG since she was too busy flying the helicopter and not crashing down since… well she wasn't an expert in that kind of driving.

"You know what?" Chris asked from his back seat through the headphones they all kept wearing. "The way we look, all we need is a Black Hawk and some Wagner in here and we could give Charlie down there a run for his money."

All the other three chuckled a little at the reference with Nathan bringing out a small copy of a map which he made from the piece that lead them to this place. He studied a little while he adjusted his sunglasses before speaking out to Chloe. "Hold that course, but try to stay a little more away from that mountain. We should have twenty minutes until we should reach the right area." He said and Chloe right away adjusted the position of the chopper.

Charlie kept his eyes as well on the outside observing the landscape around them. "I wonder how those guys are getting here or their part. They must have taken a same approach than we have" Cutter thought before he shifted his position on his seat.

Yet he had a point and Drake in his seat thought about the same thing. "Up to this point, we haven't seen them… which is a good thing. But then again… maybe they have already found it. I wonder how much of ahead they are." He then went in and then continued to study the map in front of him.

_[Meanwhile]_

A humvee stopped right in the middle of a small path that was set and placed in the middle of the forest, or jungle to be exact, followed by several trucks and other humvees. Right after stopping, the doors of the first vehicle opened and Lawrence along Chen stepped out and stared up through the trees towards the sun.

Lawrence was dressed in a tight and thing black sweater with a harness for pistols around it while he also wore a pair of Khaki pants and a pair of 80's style sunglasses. He had his hands pressed into his hips as he stared around the place while walking for the hood of the engine.

With a short motion, he placed the map he was carrying on the hood and studied it just the way that Nathan had done it. Chen stopped beside him glancing around with caution and a grim looking face. Fr about a minute, the American studied the object right before he turned his head to stare at the Asian and anther two henchmen, one from Chen, and the other being one of Lawrence's men.

"It should be only a few miles until we should be there. The entrance must be just beside that mountain." He said and pointed with his finger on a giant mountain that stood way up ahead on the distance like a patriarch glancing down on the people underneath him.

Chen grasped the pair binoculars that lay on top of the hood while staring right upwards. For quite a while, the duo stood there with the rest of their crew staying behind and waiting for orders given by the two leaders of this 'exploration'.

All in all, the group looked more like a private army marching through the region and building up a large scale attack. One would wonder how in the world the bearded American and the Thai gangster managed to get all this equipment into this kinda natural park.

The sudden sound of screeching tires brought both men out of their status and turn around to see a small jeep racing by and stopping just a few feet away from them. Right away, both focused on one of the Asian men that worked for Chen who came running up to them. "Mr. Lawrence, we have some bad news." He said but didn't have to continue as all of them could hear another sound of an engine.

Without even having to guess for a single second, Lawrence and Chen stared at each other with annoyance and anger in their voice. And even seconds later, they spotted the helicopter coming into view and flying into their direction. "Drake!" Lawrence said and stared to the sky with a sigh escaping his mouth.

Chen on the other hand just rested his arms on the hood of the humvee and buried his face in his hands. But then again, he backed off quickly and brought out his radio calling right in something in Thai. Lawrence didn't have to think twice in order to understand what his business partner had in mind.

* * *

None of the passengers of the helicopter knew that they had already been spotted, although they should have thought about flying in with a loud aircraft instead of the silent and delicate approach. Nathan already pulled out his binoculars to search for the right landing place while Chris opened the door in the back.

"Do you hear that?" He asked as he pointed his head to the outside and stared around. For the last moments, he had the feeling to hear a strange sound coming from the engine which he hadn't heard before. But something about the noise felt like it was coming from outside the chopper.

Nate did the same and turned his head to see over his shoulder to followed the gaze of the mercenary. And that was when he saw the object flying right behind them. Immediately he put two and two together and turned back before calling out to the others. "We're being followed! Cortina… close the door. I'll take over." He added before taking the control stick with his hands.

Right away, the others saw the pair of helicopters chasing after them and Nathan pulled the aircraft around to get away from them. Short after, the group could hear gunfire and bullets colliding with the chopper yet without cutting through the motoring.

"That didn't take long!" Charlie said from his spot holding on to everything he could while the helicopter went up and down all the way with Drake trying to avoid the gunfire from behind.

Nathan pulled the chopper to the side again the group could see the two small helicopters being equipped with an MG on the side of them. Drake knew that he had to stay to their right since the MG's were placed on the left. However, the two pilots must have taken the street school of flying since they were both way up ahead on them.

It was in that moment, that Chris had enough and walked to the side of the aircraft where Charlie sat. With a swift motion, he pulled the door back and then walked to a large brown bag lying in a corner. "What are you doing?" He heard Chloe and Charlie call at the same time right before he pulled out an AK 47 with a round magazine and walking to the edge of the door.

"Hook me in!" he called to the English man who spotted the Canadian pointing at a small hook on the harness he wore with hid Kevlar vest. Charlie didn't waste another moment and pulling a line from the wall and clipping it in. "Hold it steady!" He called through the speaker mostly towards Nathan.

The American treasure hunter tilted his eyebrows upwards as if to say. _Wait… don't I normally say that line?_ But just a few seconds later, they all heard gunfire as they could see Chris firing the rifle towards their chasers.

One of the helicopters right away turned to the side as if turning away from the group. "Where in the world did he get two choppers out of the sudden?" Chloe asked herself while the Canadian kept firing. Nathan in the meantime pulled the stick to the side almost knocking Charlie and Chris back into the middle of the vehicle.

Again, the brown haired man glanced over his shoulder trying to get a glimpse of the bad guys. _Why do these things don't come with rear mirrors?_ Drake asked himself and glared to the side where Chloe had the same thought.

"NATE! Go right!" They then heard Cortina shouting and the American followed right away. After then staring over his left shoulder, he saw one of the aircraft leavening an opening to them and Chris didn't waste any time to fire straight for the gunner of the copter.

And to everybody's surprise… he didn't miss. The gunner on the chopper dropped down immediately and he fell backwards on the ground with the mercenary shouting out at the same time with his fist raised. "HELL YEAH! Who's gonna stop us now…?" He asked but obviously missed on the other helicopter coming straight towards them and revealing another Asian smirking at them while holding a grenade launcher in his hands.

"Oh crap!" Nathan and Chloe shouted at the same time as they swung the stick around to make them as small as possible. The Asian fired and for a split second, each one of them stopped breathing. "Hold on!" Nathan called and almost spinned the tail of the chopper around in a 360 degree angle.

But that wasn't enough, the grenade hit the tail and the heck rotor blew into pieces right away. The alarm inside the chopper went on and Nate begun fighting against the unavoidable crash of their aircraft. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Nate kept stuttering while the group rushed through various trees and bushes as parts of wood and metal flew everywhere and the chopper finally landed with a loud crash on the ground.

And then… there was silence.

_[Meanwhile]_

Chen and Lawrence kept driving through the jungle driving over bushes and small trees as they ripped an aisle into the northern Thai landscape. Chen had his hand held to his chin and simply stared to the outside while holding the radio in his right hand.

After a while, he heard someone calling through the line and he quickly brought the device to his mouth and answering right away. His word were also in Thai so Lawrence had to wait for the man to translate it to him.

Yet then again, he could tell by the words of the Asian that the news he was receiving weren't all that bad. Finally, Chen stopped and Lawrence leaned forward from his seat while asking out to him. "What was it?" He asked with a sudden rush of interest.

Chen put down the radio again and turned around in his seat. "Target down!" He simply said directing his eyes back to the front and then leaning back in the chair with closed eyes and a satisfied grin on his face.

But then again, he felt the hand of the American connecting with his shoulder and he turned around once again. Lawrence stared right into his eyes and spoke out once more. "They have to get back and search the wreckage. I have no intention in taking any chances with him. Not since India and Bangkok. Tell them to go back!" He ordered right away in a demanding voice.

The Asian quickly went along and called back through the radio in his language waiting for anyone to reply.

* * *

"I got to hand it to you. When you crash something, you crash it better than other people fly." Chris said as he tried to get himself out of the steel line that he was hooked don minutes ago. The rope was tangled up in the inside of the helicopter as he hung from the ceiling. His body kept rotating around and he stared from side to side.

On the outside, Drake crawled as he barely got to his knees and being all shaken up while several scars showed on his face. All in all, he looked better than his Canadian partner who's clothes were all cut open and he had bruises all over the body.

Lying in the corner was Charlie who barely could move his head and only slowly reentered the world of the living. Chloe meanwhile still sat in her pilot seat while she packed all the small object that lied loosely now in the cockpit and could prove themselves useful.

Nathan tilted his head up and stared at Chris as he thought about a way to get the man down from the ceiling without breaking any bones on him. "Leave the jokes, be lucky that we made it out alive and didn't break any of our bones."

"Speak for yourself!" It came from Charlie who tilted his head and slowly shifted his position so that he could sit upside down. "I from my part would be lucky to be dead instead of being down for the count." He said again while trying to stand up.

Chloe walked over to him and helped the English man to get back on as the group could hear an engine in the distance and knew right away that the helicopters came back for them. Drake immediately turned around to the others before he stumbled a few feet. We better get somewhere where they can't find us." The American suggested as he stared right up to the mercenary.

"Aaaffter we got you down there." He then added and moved right over to him. But that was the point where Chloe and Charlie could hear footsteps right beside a bush and Nathan along his two friends quickly rushed into cover.

After a few seconds, three other Asians appeared right in front of the wreckage with both their rifles pointing directly into the inside of the chopper. They stared inside and found the inside to be completely empty. Soon, they focused on the person hanging on the line from the ceiling. Chris Cortina had all his limbs hanging down as he still kept spinning round and round.

They closed in on him and began pushing the mercenary with the front of their guns. And that was the moment when Chris shook up his head and stabbed one of the Asians into the throat with his knife. Blood spread everywhere and the other two began pointing their guns at him.

But right away, Charlie and Nate appeared behind them and rammed the butts of their guns into the backs of their heads. Both dropped to the ground unconscious while the third one dropped down dead. In the distance, Chloe sneaked up behind the fourth person sitting in the chopper and waiting for his partners to come back.

She quickly pulled her gun and pointed it directly at the head of the man. The man raised his hands over his head and short after, she called for the rest of the guys to come towards her. Nathan was the first to arrive followed shortly by Chris and Charlie.

Cortina crawled into the cockpit and sat down beside the Asian man. Nathan smirked at him and then began speaking "Alright asshole, you're going to call your pals and tell them that everything is alright and that you and your friends are just going to clean up a little bit. If you try anything funny, our friend with the blood stained Rambo knife knows your language and will end your life permanently."

The pilot obviously understood what was going on and right away called in to his boss on the radio. After talking in Thai and then hanging up the device. Nathan made eye contact with the Canadian and Chris shortly nodded his head.

Quickly and with all his power, Chris hammered his gun on the head of the Asian who got knocked out right away. After he had sunken to the ground, Nathan pulled out the map and stared into the distance. "Alright, since these guys are no longer expected to be back, we have a clear path to the tunnels and caves. And since they won't need their chopper, we already solved the problem of our ride back." He added and then turned his attention to Chloe.

"Think you can handle these three guys out here?" Nate then asked her which turned the Australian woman to stare back at him with a dumbfounded expression.

Chloe knew she was a bit reserved about coming along for the trip, but that last part of Nate's request made her shook back. "Wait, you are going in that cave and leave me out of the action in this jungle?" The woman asked with a slight disbelief.

Yet Nathan knew that there was no time to argue. "We need this chopper if we want to make a quick exit. And therefore, we need someone on the outside to pick us up… and fly the chopper." He said again wildly gesturing with his arms.

Chloe quickly understood and walked over to the unconscious pilot before bringing out some handcuffs. Nathan chuckled and the felt the fists of Chris and Cutter colliding with his back. He stared directly into the eyes of the Canadian before speaking out to him with a mocking tone. "Alright Cortina… it's your part." He said I a commanding way and signed with his left hand to the mercenary to lead through the jungle.

Keeping their eyes lock on his partners, Chris then grabbed the back of his vest and bringing out a small paper showing shapes of a labyrinth. He smirked to himself and then directed his gaze on the men behind him. "Alright fellows, follow me." He said in a highly energetic voice before walking ahead.

Cutter and Drake glared at each other with their eyebrows raised. The American treasure hunter then pointed his head into the sky still seeing the sun standing high above them. _Well… here we go!_ He though before shortly following after the Canadian ahead wha had turned around for him.

Nate and Charlie stared back to the black haired woman and gave her a thumbs up which had to serve as a _see ya _for now. With that said, the group began marching through the lines and fields of trees and bushes as they went for the last step in order to find Thirmongrung.

* * *

**Author's note: **I don't know if it is ever established that either Nathan and Chloe know how to fly a helicopter. Well we know that Nate and Sully can fly. But then again, I thought using a chopper instead of a plane was more logical than a plane into the middle of a jungle without a landing lane.

But then again, It's my Story and I can change stuff for the sake of the plot. And I finally could do anApocalypse Now joke.

But that's it for today. See you again next week.


	12. Thirmongrung

What's up

You know, I just ran over the summary underneath the Story title in the listing. I got to say, seeing all those errors in the text, it's a wonder that some people actually decide to tune in. I just went in and corrected that Thing again.

But anyway, this is Chapter 12 of the Story where we finally enter Thirmongrung.

* * *

**- 12 -**

Thirmongrung

* * *

The trio containing of Chris Cortina, Nathan Drake and Charlie Cutter had been walking for about an hour through the jungle that lied in the northern part of Thailand. Cortina lead the way with his paper containing the layout of the labyrinth of caves and tunnels they were about to enter.

Once in a while, Nate and Charlie kept their gazes locked on each other not sure whether the path the mercenary took them on was the right… or if it would lead them directly into a trap. After all, each one of them still knew that the little extra in Cortina's assignment was to kill Nathan.

And the way the buzz cut man in front kept leading them around, Nathan was sure that they were going towards the trap. But then again, there were all those small pieces of statues that lied here and there in the jungle that showed that there has definitely been some sort of building or artificial structure in the past. And at least that was something that Nate could count on.

"We better kept it low till here, I don't have the nerve to get it on with those guys again if avoidable." Chris suddenly said from the front which forced Nathan and Charlie to shake back and stare at each other for a short moment.

Yet Charlie brought his hands into his hips before pushing his chest forward. "We crashed with our ride in the middle of a bloody jungle, what makes you think that we…" he stopped in the middle of the sentence as he saw what lied in front of the trio.

Chris slowly stared to the back with a triumphant smile. "Oh I don't know…" Up in front, there stood numerous trucks and jeeps that obviously belonged to the posse running around with Lawrence and Chen. "… just call it a hunch!"

The small track which they had driven in the jungle led all the way to a small cave that was big enough for small jeeps, yet not big enough for the trucks to fit through. Without waiting another second, the trio rushed behind several of the vehicles as they heard voices go through the air and reach their ears.

"Psst… Nate!" Charlie called as he spotted a pair of two men standing Just around the vehicle he was hiding behind. Both of them wore dark grey army gear while they had their weapons hung from their backs. Both had been involved in a chat with one of them lighting up a cigarette.

Drake understood it right away and sneaked around his vehicle now having a better stare at another duo standing beside a truck. Right behind him, he gave a sign to Chris and quickly sneaked over the track as he stopped right behind his English friend.

Quickly and without being seen, they moved further until they were on the edge of the vehicle. Both glared to the other side and saw Chris being in position as well. For a second, Nathan inhaled deeply and then right away rushed out behind the car grabbing one of the men around the neck and pulling him back around the corner.

Charlie right away got up and kicked the other one in the stomach before hammering his elbow into his face. Chris on the other side slid over the hood of the jeep and right away sliced one of the men's throat open. Right after, he grabbed one of the arms of one of them while twisting it in an awkward way, and right out breaking his neck again.

In the meantime, Drake had hammered the head of his opponent a few times against the door which caused him to drop to the ground immediately. He started up and saw Cutter being finished with his opponent. He helped the English man to his feet as both stared straight at the Canadian coming their way and swiping the blood off from his knife.

"Alright! So far so good." Charlie called and the trio right away stared into the darkness of the cave that they were about to enter "After you." He said towards the Canadian mercenary and directed his arm into the distance.

With a slight frown, Chris walked ahead as Drake padding Charlie on the back and followed the other one into the cave.

* * *

"Admit it, we're lost!" Charlie said with folded arms still following Cortina and Nathan through a pair of dark tunnels and underground cave systems. All three of them had a pair of flashlights in their hands and shined on the walls beside and around the place.

None of these corridors seemed to led to an ancient myth that once defined a whole continent. But then again, it often didn't seem that way in the past. Nathan stared around as more and more mistrust grew inside of him with the American slightly eying him with the corner of his orbs. "I hope you know what you are doing?" He asked yet almost seemed to make it look like a threat.

The trio turned around corners and axes for quite a while with the outside walls not changing a little bit. And even though Nate didn't knew how anybody could find order in this labyrinth (even though he himself has done it a few times in the past) he once again could feel that they were getting closer with each moment they kept going.

As they went around another corner, Drake immediately realized a small shift in their surroundings. The shape of the walls around them got a little more constant and even through the whole part of the wall. Nathan threw the light on the wall observing the carvings on the place. "If I didn't know any better, I would guess that these tunnels were carved." He said which caused Charlie and Chris to stop and stare at him.

"What makes you say that?" Cutter asked right away with one eyebrow raised and a disbelieving glare.

But then again, Nathan knew what he meant and he stopped for a short time walking over to the wall of the cave. "You see these markings, I can see a pattern on them. Almost as if someone had used something the drill through the mountain in order to find get to the middle of the mountain."

Yet Charlie and even Cortina were not really convinced and folded their arms in front of their chests. "But then again, how in the world were people able to built something like this without using a giant drill… y'know… like they do today?"

"Guess that's we are about to find out once we get there." Nathan replied as they kept going.

It took another fifteen minutes and the group marched through corridors, small gaps and tunnels as they already forgot what daylight looked like. But then again, there was something that gave both Nate and Charlie the feeling that they were on the right path.

Voices and noises reached their ears and all three of them stopped before they went around the next corner. Unlike the ones before, they could tell that these were not English but a bunch of Chen's men. The Canadian sneaked up to the corner and then peaked around the edge and on the scenery in front of them.

Nathan was right behind him and stepped as he peeked over the head of the other one before looking back on Cutter and Cortina. "Alright, we should try to sneak past them. I don't want to end up with holes in my stomach right now." Right away, he could see the disappointment in the eyes of the mercenary and he right away got an unsettling feeling from him.

He clapped Chris on the head and right away stared into the face of him. "Don't get any crazy ideas! Have you seen the masses of trucks and jeeps that he had back there? God knows how many of those guys might be after our tail after we bring them down!?"

But then again; Chris checked the map he held in his hands and began talking back to the American. "I don't want to break to you Drake, but there is no way around those clowns. I told you before, there's only one way to get to Thirmongrung. That to say it just like you do, but we have to walk through them if we want to reach Lawrence and Chen."

After taking a few seconds of considering, Chris stared around the corner again. Several small jeeps were parked a glade that was bigger than the tunnels the trio had walked through the last hours. Pieces of equipment and boxes sat around the place along with a pair of spotlights that shining on the walls.

Chris once again observed the scenario and began counting the people that they had to beat in order to get further. Nathan rose up from behind after being at the count of at least men staying behind. Four of them stood together once again in the middle of a chat while two other placed themselves on part of the boxes. Chris sneaked past the jeeps and boxes while also staying the backs of the spotlights.

Drake on the other hand waited for him to to make the first move ready to get into action himself. While the other four still waited on their spots, Chris lurked behind the edge of the car before smiling up to them. All four stared completely shocked as they spotted the man that kept smirking sinister at them. "Hello Gentleman… grenade?" He said in Thai before throwing a stinger grenade into the middle and right away jumping to the side.

The explosion hit the four men spot on and Drake wasted no time before running to the group. Chris came forth again and made a double kick directly on the faces of two while Nathan kicked the third one in the balls.

The man's rifle flew in the air which Nathan caught and swiped the second guard with the weapon across the head. Charlie hammered one of the men faces first on the hood before ramming his elbow in the face of the second one. As fast as the fight had begun, it was over again. The explosion of the grenade must have alerted most of the cave already and all three were sure that their quest was no longer a secret.

"Well…" Charlie said dusting off his clothes a little bit and coming to a halt beside the treasure hunter. "That actually went better than I have expected." He added as the trio was now completely standing together in the middle of the glade.

"WHAT DID HE SAY?" Chris almost screamed as both Charlie and Nathan held their fingers in front of their faces and tried to make him be quiet.

"Cool it Gretzky" Charlie quickly replied while the Canadian understood and Drake stepped away from them. The American stared into the distance and to the sides of the cave with the other men staring at him in confusion. Again, Drake kept wandering back and forth from side to side while holding his hand to his chin. "Nate!?" The English one said and Drake continued staring into the distance.

Finally, Charlie stood up and walked right beside his partner before taking a look at the outside walls himself. The realization hit him like a rock. "This… this is the door to the City." He said not staring over to Drake while he observed the construction a bit more.

All two could now see the shape of doors that had been opened and now leaned against the wall of the cave. Both Charlie and Nathan knew that the group they had been chasing had already passed the entrance and maybe already had gotten a glimpse of Thirmongrung. "You know there's something that I don't get!"

Nathan turned to the side as Charlie spoke out once again. "I know that the temple back on the Philippines could only be opened when you inserted the right word in their language. Normally, stuff like that appears on everything in contact with the theme of our adventures." Drake listened with Cutter continuing.

"But then again, how in the world, if Hack and Slash back there is the only one that can navigate through the Labyrinth or tunnel system, how can they be able to do that with ease and without any problems?"

Nathan was about to respond when he realized that… Cutter was right. They both thought that Chris was the one that could get to the city and that the others had no advantage in that regard. But here they were, Lawrence and Chen had reached Thirmongrung… and they didn't.

After turning around and walking straight up to Cortina, Drake quickly grabbed him by the belts on his gear and shoved him against the wall. "I guess you have some explaining to do." He said once again with a growl escaping his voice.

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU JUST SAID BUT… I GOT A FEELING THAT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE OPEN DOOR!" He replied while pointing with one of his fingers on the map in his hands. "BEATS ME HOW THEY DID IT!" Chris added before he and Drake stared deeply into each other's eyes.

It took quite a while for Nate to release the Canadian and get back to the middle. "We can't change it anyways. Let's keep moving!"

* * *

After picking some extra ammo and a few little things, the trio stepped around the corner and found themselves staring at a stair going down. Drake and Charlie stared at each other and both drew their pistols before taking the first steps with great caution.

The wall was colored in light brown and for the first time in quite a while. Drake could make out torches and sculptures along the left and right side. The stairs were wide enough for at least ten men to step down side by side. And they seemed to be endless.

Finally, the trio reached the bottom and stared directly at several statues designed in the same way as they were in the temples and places they had come this far. It were three in total with two door or passages going between them. "What do you make of it?" Charlie asked as he stopped in front of the one to the left.

His gaze fell on the face of the creature built out of stone, and he could tell right away that it was no human that he had seen here. "Isn't this the guy that we had found back in Cebu City?" Charlie asked and Drake stared over to him with a nodding of his head. "Yeah! That's Rahu!" he said and then noticed the object that lied in his hands. "What is he holding?"

Drake walked closer to the statue and stared into the hands that held some sort of vase inside them. Symbols were carved into the stone and Nathan immediately recognized it. "It reads… _the nectar of the gods. _This must be the amrita." He added and turned his attention back on the statue to the left where Cortina stood in front of.

Chris rubbed the inside of his ear with his finger as he slowly began to find his hearing back. He turned around with Nate coming to a halt at his side. The statue to the left showed another god like being standing and raising a round object into the air. Right away, the trio could tell that it was a head and even the question of which the head belonged to was no mystery anymore. "That's also Rahu! After he got decapitated."

Charlie and Chris turned back to the American who already had his focus set on the statue in the middle. This however was no god like being. This was clearly a man. He too was standing. The carvings around him seemed to resemble the one of fire and smoke as he seemed to emerge from them. In his hands, small glass looking objects were carved and set in while there was another symbol right underneath the statue.

Again, the American leaned down and stared at the symbol trying to decipher it. The symbols were all written in the Language of the Tangnamgrah so he was the only one that could get them. "It reads… _The curse of the moon._" He said and was finished right away.

Without knowing what that meant, Drake turned back on Cutter and Cortina who stared at him with raised eyebrows. Charlie was the first to response with a bad feeling in his stomach. "Now that is perfect, not only have we to compete with an army and their lunatic squad. But now we're getting a curse thrown at us… again." He said while throwing his arms up in defeat. "Then however, I hope that this isn't the case with this."

Drake stood back and better left that statement where it was. Instead, he gazed past the statues and his eyes widened while walking forward. And then he saw it.

The men found themselves standing on another stair that led to the probably most amazing places had ever seen in his life. Up ahead, the sight of a city stretched itself out through the part of the biggest cave ever seen. There were buildings everywhere. Most of them were colored white with dark green roofs made out of stone. Jade and gold markings decorated the buildings to a point that made them look really amazing.

There were buildings placed beside buildings and the streets that were made out of light grey stones were narrow but still well seen from above and also gave the city a nice and organized layout. Drake mouth dropped down to the floor as Charlie and Chris came to a halt beside him.

Even though they found themselves in a gigantic cave that was far beyond the biggest ones they had ever seen, there was a giant hole in the ceiling of the cave that provided the city with light. It looked almost like a volcano that had been emptied from the inside.

All in all, this was something none of them had seen before. At least not since Drake had wandered through Ubar. The American stared further ahead and found a giant temple on a hill on the other side of the cave. And then there was that huge plaza in the center surrounding the eight cornered building forming the center of the city and had most of the streets leading towards it.

Drake caught himself back and kept observing the scenery with several thoughts reaching his mind. _How could a civilization capable of creating this giant city could go down?_ He asked himself and then got snapped out of his thought as he heard a clicking and a slight light bulb appearing beside him. Nathan stared at him with raised eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

Charlie on the other end simply put down a small camera before he turned back on Nate. "What… I'm just holding the moment. You know… before you destroy it again."

Right beside them, Chris chuckled and passed the duo while taking the first steps down the stairs leading to the city at whole.

* * *

Thirmongrung was a city designed in all sorts of Asian architecture, while the houses had a Chinese style to them, lots of the statues and little decorations came from the Thai and Vietnamese culture. The trio marched swift but silently through the street once in a while staring to the inside of a building in order to find something interesting, and of course to avoid getting spotted by Chen's men.

Drake lead the way turning stopping at a corner as he heard motion on the other side of it and he leaned against the wall before taking peak. Drake immediately saw a duo of the Asians holding their weapons and talking to each other.

Before either one could say anything, Chris padded them on the back and pointed to the back of them were they could hear other voices coming and all three knew that there was patrol coming their way. Chris right away opened a door and signed both of them to come after him.

With quick motions, they walked inside and closed the door just in time for the patrol not being able to see them. Drake right away walked to the middle of the room and began observing it.

Charlie on the other hand quickly stared out the wooden windows barricaded with bars before he turned his attention to the Canadian at their side. "I see you have gained your hearing back mate." He said not without hiding the sarcasm coming from the mercenary who quickly sat down on the ground.

"This place is great!" Drake said looking around the place they had walked into. "This place is like a mash up between several Asian cultures. Take a look." He said and kept walking over the floor. "Look, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Cambodian." He pointed with his fingers at several objects lying in the shelves of the places. "This is an archeological goldmine."

"Guess so!" it was one of the first things that Chris had said for the last time since he damaged his hearing in the fight in front of the gate. He glared over to the American and right away pulled out his gun and checking the clip.

Nathan thought for a short moment before he glanced over through some bars of wood and directly above the roofs of the other buildings. He could see the giant temple on the wall of the cave, as well as the giant octagon building in the center. And that's when he figured something out.

"For now, we should get down to the middle and check out that building in the middle. I guess we can find some answers there." He said by walking back to the door and peaking through the small opening in the door.

Chris and Charlie followed him with the Canadian cocking his gun and stopping right after the treasure hunter. "When you say answers, I hope you mean Lawrence!?" He added and Nathan as well as Charlie stared back on him.

For a short moment, Charlie was about to slam the mercenary's head right on the door when Nate replied with a slender smirk and a defensive motion of his arms. "Hey! Since we are already here, we should get forward and unlock the secrets of this city." Nathan held his own gun right in front of his face and opened the door while stepping out onto the street.

* * *

"So… there we are. Anything interesting that you want to observe here?" Chris asked a bit annoyed as he and the other two stood in front of the giant octagon building. Yet there were several stony stairs leading up to the building. The outside wall was made of white stones and each side held one sculpture similar to the ones back at the entrance.

There were also giant dark brown colored wooden double doors with golden marking on it along golden stripes on the bottom and the top. Drake stared at them and short after realized that each one of the eight statues showed a scene that was going on around the whole building.

Four of the sculptures showed a man taking a vase and raising it above his head before leading it towards his mouth. The other four sculptures showed a man in profile while the carved lines in the stone resembled something looking like water. Nathan walked closer to the picture and noticed once again the small pearl of glass that was crafted into the stone.

"Those little things start to interest me." Charlie said right before Nathan walked towards one of the doors and opened it. The inside of the building was completely dark and Nathan along with Charlie stepped inside slowly followed by Chris who took another glance to the outside for any hostiles coming by.

The two treasure hunters stared through the night before Drake brought his hands to his hips and stared over to the English man. After that, the American checked each of his pockets while Charlie stared at the silhouette of his friend and already knowing what was going on. "You know, I'm really starting to consider buying me a lighter." He said and already heard the clicking right beside him.

In the dim light of the lighter, he could see the triumphant face of Cutter who searched the outside walls for torches. "Ah… there we go." He said and walked over to one that hung on the wall. After igniting it, he handed one over to Chris who did the same.

Both went on and lighted every one of them all around the room with the three guys getting to know in what kind of place they found themselves in. "You know, the way this place looks in the dark light, I got the feeling that this place might be some sort of temple or prayers room." Charlie said with a slight smirk of triumph.

"Or maybe, a rec-room. Maybe a place to play Canasta." Chris replied from his spot as he lighted up the last torch.

"You're both wrong!" Nathan said from his point with complete horror in his voice. Chris and Cutter both turned around to him and as they got into eye contact with the American. Drake stared up from the ground facing both of them. "This is a grave!" He said with a grim face.

Both turned their faces around the place and immediately noticed the masses of skeletons lying on the ground. Each one of them shook back in shock while Cutter had to hold back his feeling to throw up on the spot. Chris on the other hand began circling around and observing the bodies that lied on the ground.

Nathan himself did the same while kneeling down in front of one of the dead. "Wow, must have been one hell of a massacre!" He heard Charlie call from behind standing in the middle of the place. Yet hen Drake observed a little further, a thought and a realization came to his mind.

"These guys weren't murdered!" He said not 100% sure himself. But then again they could as well be. "At least there are no stabbing or bullet wounds in them that could serve as an indication." He continued while Charlie raised his eyebrows once more.

The English man then kneeled down to a skeleton himself turning back to his friend. "Someone might have strangled them." He said staying with his point. "I mean, what could have happened that all these guys could have died at the same place at the same time. At least that is what it looks like to me:"

"You wanna hear my opinion?" Chris asked from the back as he let his hand wander through some of the stacks of objects lying everywhere. "I guess this was a giant mass suicide:" He added and right caused Drake and Charlie to shook up and seconds later stand on their feet. "Or can you explain to me why most of these guys still have these small brass cups with them and in their hands."

He reached out and held one of the small objects into the direction of the two treasure hunters. "Do you know how many people it would have taken to strangle these guys without letting one get away. These guys died here for a purpose and I bet that was due to poison in something they drunk.

Taking the oxidized brass cup with him, he handed it over to Drake who took a closer look at it himself. The American then stared around to the small amount of walls and then back to the middle of the room. His eye then locked on another corps lying against the wall to their right and he quickly walked over to it. "One of these is not like the others." He said in a forced joking voice and kneeled down.

The figure right in front of them still had the clothes he died with him in his hand as Nate observed the robe he wore. "It is not from this culture. That is a robe worn by Europeans." He said and felt the hand of Charlie connecting with his shoulder.

"Is that… Magellan?" He simply asked knowing that Drake didn't knew it either… but then again, he wanted to find out. He searched the complete robe of the man and right away found a small piece of old paper in one of his pockets, surprised that the robe had pockets after all. "What is that?" Charlie asked after Nathan had unfolded the paper.

"It's a… farewell ladder." Nathan said as began reading. "It's written in Spanish. Magellan travelled around the world in assignment for the Spaniards. This is not Magellan however… it's one of his men."

Drake began wandering through the room, as was his habit when he came across such things, and he began reading out loud. "This is to whoever may come after us and come upon these strange lands. Whatever you may seek inside here, it may never leave this place. "Fernaó and we have seen what the Sarira can do. And it is nothing that should be taken to the outside world."

"It was never meant for the world of the living!" Nate heard Chris call in a bad Bruce Campbell expression and simply silenced him by holding up his hand. "The curse of the moon is too dangerous for anyone to possess. We decided to destroy any evidence that we could find."

Chris and Cutter stared at the people standing and both of them began to understand. But neither one of them spoke as Drake wasn't finished. "Though the lust for eternal life is the by far greatest thing that we have come across, it is not worth the horror that might come from this. Too my dear friend Fernaó. I hope that our great god in heaven can forgive the deeds we have done and may safe us a place in heaven. And I have to apologize for ending this like this… I'm sorry!"

Drake folded the letter back together and stored it back in his own pocket.

"That pretty much proves it." Chris said from his spot folding his arms. "Whatever they found in this city had them convinced that they had to end this right here in order to have not have anybody else known." The mercenary said pointing with his finger down and around to the corpses.

Nathan nodded in agreement while Charlie had something else to point out. "And from what it sounded, our friend Magellan wasn't informed, since this lad clearly apologized to him and even said that they wanted to destroy _all _evidence. That's why nobody knows about this place and the culture anymore. They wiped out everything that was connected with them.

"Except for Magellan who left enough clues for Da Gama to follow him, which brings us back to Lawrence, Chen and us who are after it together too." Nate said from his spot. And then he thought back to the statues. "And I bet that it has to do with those gems that were carved in the stone outside and at the entrance."

No one said anything as they just kept standing around in the room and staring at the numerous dead bodies lying around them. The trio had once again surrounded a small object in the middle of the room. Another octagon out of white stone and a dark green colored stone cover. "What do you think is underneath?" Chris asked and walked right towards the object.

Nathan knew what he was up to and he followed him quickly. Both men checked the object and quickly found that the cover of the construction could be shoved off. "Come on Charlie… help us with this." Drake called and all three began pushing.

It took them a while but finally, the cover gave in and got shoved to the side before landing right on the stony ground. The moved cover revealed a deep hole in the ground that seemed to go on for miles. "Looks like an old well. This must have been how this city could exist and reach this height in the middle of the mountain." Nathan called out while Chris pulled out a few bullets from his clip and letting them fall.

After falling through the darkness, the sound of iron colliding with stone reached them and made them turn around to each other again. "Obviously run dry quite a while ago." Charlie remarked and then turned back to friend Drake again. "So… what now?"

Before each one of them could say anything, they could hear footsteps and noises on the outside and knew that they were too late to get out and they simply waited for the door to open and Chen along Lawrence to walk in.


	13. Uncovering the truth

Hey guys,

And another Chapter posted of this Story. Today, we find out what this whole chase and search was all about.

* * *

**- 13 -**

Uncovering the truth

* * *

Seeing as how Lawrence and Chen were about to enter the room, the Canadian and the American rolled their eyes having a serious case of déjà vu. "Here we go again!" The mercenary said and the trio right away stared at the bearded man walking inside followed by several of his armed men.

The glares of the two parties met and one walking by could already see the annoyance and the sheer hatred that went through the man's head. "What in the world have I done to always have you two on my tail?" He asked himself and then staring around the place with all the skeletons along the three other men standing on the other side of the room.

"Why did you have to be in that museum in Lisbon, and why just on that day?" He once again asked and quickly turned back around. "But I'm sick of you…. And I am sick of the rest of you." Lawrence added and directed his gun directly towards Drake.

He right away leaned back and threw his hands up as Chris stepped in front and pulled out a small smoke bomb out of his pocket and throwing it directly in front of their enemies. Lawrence and his men got blinded for a short moment and he turned away from the others.

The confusion was the right Moment for Cortina to attack the bearded American and end this fight right here. He raised his own gun but right away got grabbed by both Drake and Charlie who pulled the mercenary by his arms and dragged him out of the room.

"Let me go you morons. That was **the** chance." He called as Charlie pulled him around a corner and Drake kept firing at the group of people running after them.

The trio ran through the street as bullets missed them by only inches. Drake stopped at a corner before pulling one of Cortina's grenades from his gear and threw them right across the street at their followers. The explosion did its job and some of the guys got blown into every direction. Chris turned around on his heel and fired along with the M4 on his back shooting another pair of them down.

Meanwhile, Charlie had opened a gate which led them right into a backyard surrounded by a giant wall. They quickly closed it again as they could hear their followers closing in and passing by short after. A huge sigh of relief escaped their mouths and the three sat down again for a moment.

Immediately, the two treasure hunters sat down while the mercenary let a grunt. "Why did you pull me back there Drake? I had a clear shot at the bastard, and you just shove me aside when I could have finished this." He said and directed his arms into Nate's direction with a blaming tone.

But Nathan just stared from side to side between breathings and then returned the gesture. "Would you have liked getting killed instead? You might have a bullet reserved for Lawrence, but the rest of the gang would have gotten to you within seconds. I always thought you would think things more through before you ran into gunfire."

"That is for me to decide!" Cortina then added right before checking his gear and his ammo. "But that proves one thing… those dudes have not found the stuff they're looking for yet." He added and received nods of agreement from the other two.

Realizing that, Drake got back beside to the door and listened if there was anything going on outside. "This means that they have not come to the temple yet. If we can make it there first, we can be the first ones to reclaim it and screw Lawrence and his mean really over."

"But remember that we at least _try _to make it difficult for them to find us." Charlie threw in as he searched the backyard for another way out. Yet since there was none, he followed Nathan as he and Chris walked through the gate again on their way to the temple.

* * *

The fact that the trio made their way to the temple without anymore incidents including the group around Chen and Lawrence almost sounded like a miracle. But then the layout of the city, although being rather linear, was narrow and cornered enough for them to get around their enemies for the time being.

But all three of them knew that Lawrence and his men were sooner or later come to this place and that they had to be fast. Chris held his M4 to the back covering the entrance of Drake and Charlie before entering the building.

The temple they were about to enter was the by far the tallest building. It was made out of the same stone that the rest of the buildings were made of. The outside look was designed in an old Thai temple Chinese styled dark green roof over it. But then again, it was only the front that could be seen like this the temple seemed to go way deeper into the mountain they could be seen from the front.

After having the also dark green door with golden decorations closed. The trio turned around and faced a huge stair heading around a corner along the wall going to the top. Both Charlie and Nate were the first to walk upwards with Chris staring to the sides and with his head directed to the fountain in the stony and white colored room.

Again, it showed the statue of Rahu in the middle while holding up his hands and having yet another one of those pearls upwards. For a short moment, a thought seemed to manifest inside his mind and he raised his hand to call out to the others. But then again, he changed his mind and simply shrugged his shoulders before running up after Cutter and Nathan.

"Uhm… Drake?! I know that this might be a bit late for me to ask but… what are WE even looking for? I mean, you told something about the Amrita, but I don't see why a simple liquid that lengthens your life is that special." Chris then asked as he stopped and caught up with Nathan as they kept walking up the stairs.

The American treasure hunter raised his eyebrows and decided to answer anyway. "Have you ever heard of the Chintamani Stone?" He simply asked and brought his hands into his hips. "There was also this weird stuff… tree resin that gave you supernatural powers. I couldn't believe what people went through to get something like that into their hands."

Chris listened carefully while throwing his rifle back above his shoulder. "But then again… I mean… I am not the brightest star in heaven but… there's something else that has you worried?" His voice was honest and serious as Drake could tell that the mercenary meant what he was saying.

"The people down there were willing to end their lives in order to keep the secret of this city. And from the letter we've seen, it is something different from the Amrita. And I got the feeling that there is something that is far more dangerous than what we believed up till now. And we have to make sure that the guy's last wish gets done."

They kept talking as another part came in view of the conversation. "And, what have you decided to do once you killed Lawrence?" Drake questioned and was aware that he still was only in danger from getting shot by Lawrence, Chen or one of his goons. There was also the Canadian mercenary that could turn on him every second. The only difference between Chris and the others was… that he had it the easiest.

"I'm still weighing my options." He said simply and Nathan knew instantly that Cortina played with his mind a little bit.

Finally, they reached the end of the stairs and found themselves right at another floor designed similar to the rest of the temple and the city. Drake took a quick note and then nodded his head in the direction of Charlie. "Come on Charlie, help me with this." He called and both men walked directly to the entrance and pulled.

The door slid open and revealed yet another chamber much bigger than one would think of coming from the other side. The white stone and the green decorations across the walls were present even in this room. The only thing that the trio could see in the middle of the room was a giant statue of Rahu.

The only difference between this and the rest of the statues was that seemed to be made out of pure gold. All three guys stumbled back on the spot as they understood what they saw in front of them.

"Now that's what I see when I think about a treasure." Chris remarked as he stepped closer to the statue in the middle. He had his hands in his hips as he stared up and down the sculpture before he brought his rifle and grabbed it upside down. "Now, let's see what we can chunk off from this." With that, he brought his rifle up and wanted to smash it down on the statue as Drake called from behind.

"Stop It!" He called with a stern expression before winking him over to him and Charlie. "We're not here to go down as grave robbers. We are her to do the right thing." He said and then began walking through the room and thinking of what to do next.

The inside of the room was surprisingly light and all three of them had to stare to the sky while staring around the room. "There's nothing here!" Charlie said with a frown and folded his arms in front of him.

Drake realized it too and stomped his foot into the ground. "Crap! You got that right Charlie!" The American replied with frustration escaping his mouth. But then again, they had come this far and he had no interest in stopping right here. And not to mention that, like so often in his time, he was under time pressure and had to do this before Chen and Lawrence were coming.

"Alright guys! Keep looking; there must be something that we're missing here. Search the walls and the floor." He ordered with the other two doing just as they got told to. Chris and Charlie investigated on every torch holder on the walls. Small pictures held on the ends of the room and even the small markings on the ground, yet nothing seemed to grand them something that they could make something out of.

After quite a while, Chris stopped in front of the golden statue and brought his hand to his chin to ponder. "Come on buddy, show us your secret!" He said and then kneeled down to observe the bottom. The Canadian noticed the dirt and the trails of usage which indicated him that this place must have been built for the people to pray or do other religious rituals.

Nathan saw a small altar at the end of the room and stared on the table in front of him. Except for a few candles, a few vases and cups that one could drink from, there was nothing of interest. But then again, there was the small blinking object that lied inside a simple glass in the middle. Somehow, Nathan knew that he had seen this before.

Yet right away, there was this temptation and the interest in touching the small… pearl, at least he thought that it was some. So he picked up the glass and took the small object. Right after Drake turned around, he noticed a sound reaching his ear and for a very small second, he thought he could hear the sound of the ocean in the distance. But as soon as he had realized, he threw the thought away and stared into the middle of the room again.

In the meantime, Chris noticed the slight scratch in the ground that went away from the golden object. They were to be exact, and they both were located at the edges of the statue. "Okay, that is either ridiculous… or just that simple. Uhm… DRAKE!"

Right away, Nathan walked over to him as Cortina pointed his finger on the ground. "I may be new to this secret unveil business, but then again… I am good for a few observations." Chris called out with a self assuring smile. Drake meanwhile leaned against the sculpture and began pushing. Yet then again, the statue didn't move an inch.

"Get me a hand with this!" The American ordered and all three now tried to shove the golden piece aside. But again there was no use to it. "Crap!" Drake said swiping away some sweat from his forehead. Immediately, he let his gaze wander around the walls which they searched moments ago.

And it was then that he realized the small hole in the middle of the part that seemed to be the stomach. The outside of the hole was decorated with shining crystal nails. All three of them stared directly at it. The hole was too small to bring a finger or something else inside… but then again, Drake had an idea what he had to do.

Slowly, he brought out the small pearl he had taken off the table at the wall and Charlie stared at it right away. "Where did you get that?" Cutter asked bringing his hands on his knees and his head closer to Nathan. "And what the bloody hell is that?"

"I got it from back there, seemed like a small gem stone." He simply replied and brought the object close to the wall. "It either is that ridiculous… or that simple!" And not that much but still to his surprise… it fitted right in. He put it inside the hole so that only a sharp front could be seen. Barely enough to pull it back out.

And the next thing all three noticed was that the statue began to move away from them. All three shook up and got to their feet as the golden sculpture was now a few feet away from them and revealed a quadratic hole in the ground. Still backing up, the three kept staring into the darkness that lied underneath them. And once again to their surprise, they found stairs in the hole and led them back downwards.

"Now… who designs stuff like this?" Chris began talking as he leaned over to stare into the darkness. "First these guys let us walk up all these stairs to get here. And then they reveal a secret passage way that sends us directly back down." The Canadian continued before he folded his arms and then stared at the two comrades.

Though one could think that there might be some truth in the words, but Nathan still found something that he could find in favor of him. "They seem to lead even more into the mountain. The secret of Thirmongrung must be really close."

Drake was the first to open up his flashlight before he took the first steps down through the hole.

* * *

The corridor which the trio took looked nothing like the rest of the temple and the city. He place was dark and hilled with brown wood and small golden decoration on the upper part of the way. Drake and the others held their flashlights in front of them as they walked through knowing that the time for jokes and easy going was over.

Even though there should have nothing to be feared from here since there was no one around in ages, they all had their sense sharpened and once in a while stared to the back as if they could be jumped by ghosts or something at any minute.

Their way seemed to go on forever, but all three could see a strange weak and small source of light shining in the distance. And after another while of walking, they reached a small stair that lead upwards to an entrance without a door where they could see the blue light coming from.

Drake was the first to enter as the room he stepped into was constructed in another octagon. Small wooden pillars stood in each corner with the ceiling being colored in various colors reaching from gold to blue over red and white. The floor was made from the same wood as the rest of the room.

But the big eye catcher was the giant wooden podium that ended in a giant bowl made out of gold. (Think of a christening bowl yet larger in size. Yet then again, the by far stranger thing that they saw was the blue shining liquid that lied inside almost as if time didn't have any impact on it. The bowl itself was so big that five to six people could stand around it without any problems or crush.

Chris and Charlie followed the American and their eyes locked on the liquid just as the ones of Nathan. "Unbelievable!" Nate mumbled with open mouth as he stopped on one side and rested his hands on the podium beside the bowl. "This must be it! The Amrita" He said again with the other two standing on other parts of the object and having the same reaction.

"Hundreds of years… the rest of the springs and wells have been dried out, but this stuff lies here like nothing happened." Cortina remarked never taking his eyes off the liquid. "Can you imagine? Everything that people have desired for ages… the key to eternal life. And we found it."

Yet Drake quickly went back in as he saw where this was going. "Don't even think about it! We are here for something else." He remarked with Cutter tilting up his head and getting back into the conversation. "But then again, I'm wondering if that thing really is the key to immortality."

"Well I ain't drinking it, that lied in there for centuries. Who knows what happened to it and if isn't poisoned by now." The mercenary then brought in before the trio turned their attention back on the bowl.

For a short moment, nobody said anything as their eyes seemed to get lost in the magnifying light of the Amrita. That was until Charlie brought his head back up. "So… we found the first part of this place's secret. What about the second?"

Drake turned around and quickly searched the walls for anything else. "Whatever it is…" he began which forced the other two with him to turn their heads. "It must have to do something with this door." They heard the American say and followed the now once again ignited light of the flashlight.

Nathan pointed directly on a door that stood on the opposite of the entrance. It wasn't all that big, but big enough. Three symbols in the Tangnamgrah language made out of gold were carved and placed on the door with Nate being the first to step closer. "What does it say?" He heard Cutter ask in the back right before Drake tried to recall how to translate the symbols again.

"It says… Authorized Personal only!" He said surprised and disbelieving while he tilted his head to the side with raised eyebrows. "That's… weird!"

In the back, his two comrades folded their arms almost as none believing as their friend. "And you're sure that we didn't run into an ancient version of Disneyland?" Cortina remarked which even got a laughter from Charlie. "How in the world do you know that it has to do with the secret that Chen is after?"

Chris hadn't spoken out the question as Nathan turned around on him and pointed his finger at something above him. On the top of the wall, a small golden carved and flat picture of two god like creatures. But that was difficult to see since there was something written with red paint over them which read. "El Diablo de la loona!"

"The devil of the moon. I thought the guy back there talked about _the curse of the moon_?" Charlie asked right away from his place.

"Maybe the writer had problems with his internet and couldn't watch what curse means in Spanish since he didn't remember." Chris threw in and received confused glares from the other two. "Okay so… whatever it is that Chen wants is behind that door. Let's crack it open." The Canadian called pulling out his M4 and cocking it.

But right away, Drake went in between. "Wait, you can't just shoot down something like that. We can open it up ourselves." He said and turned back on the door again. Something took him off and he had a feeling that there was something fishy about this thing. His gaze fell on a small golden circle in the middle and he immediately realized what. "Perfect!" He called in sarcasm which caught the attention of Charlie and Chris.

"We need another one of those gems." Nathan added and brought his hands into his hips. It would have been easy to get back and pick up the one of the statue from earlier. But then again, he had no idea if the statue would keep standing on is spot or would trap them inside. Yet he had no idea where to find…

And that was when it hit him. He turned his gaze on Cutter. "Charlie… that thing that we picked up in the temple in Cebu. Do you still have that?" He asked and could see Charlie searching his pockets immediately.

It took a while but Charlie brought out a small plastic bag that held the piece inside. He brought it out and showed to his friend. "Here we go!" He said and then he realized it to. "You mean…" The English didn't even have to finish knowing what it was that was special about this thing. "Now… I thought we could use this thing again." He added and threw the object in the air trying to catch it again.

At first, none of them realized because none of them could have seen this coming. But right as Charlie threw the pearl into the air. A good amount of the Amrita did the same and the water inside the bowl moved to the center before towering upwards a little bit.

Chris was the one to see it and he had a big problem keeping his chin from falling straight through the floor. "Cutter! Do that again!" He asked and pointed his finger to him as Charlie and Drake stared at the Canadian with confusion.

But without thinking, Charlie did it again. And just like before, the Amrita in the bowl followed the motion of the object. "What in the…" All three called out and walked right back to the side of the bowl. "Okay! I'm either delusional or… this freaking thing can control the Amrita!" Nathan said as Charlie held the object over the bowl again and moved from left to right.

And if someone was moving a glass wall through the bowl, the Amrita shifted and followed the gem all around the way. All three looked up with the same dumbfounded glares. And as if Drake was stung by a hornet, he pulled out the letter that he took from the man in the building and unfolded it. "Fernaó has seen what the Sarira can do… Sarira!"

"What is a Sarira?" Chris asked on the spot without ever getting eye contact with Nate.

Nathan kept staring and simply replied without looking. "A Sarira are the crystallized bones of someone from a Buddhist community. After their death, they get burned and some of the bones stay back in some sort of gem stone. But… how in the world do some bones have the power to control the Amrita?"

"Or worse!" It came from Chris again with Charlie and Nathan now giving confused glares. "What if it isn't just the Amrita?"

Before each one of them could think further, they heard footsteps on the outside of the room and prepared for Lawrence, Chen and their men to storm in. Chris and Nathan both pulled their guns before the mercenary leaned towards the American. "How often did this happen by now?"

Yet Nathan simply smirked and went back at him. "Whatever, we should have known this should come."

And right in that moment, Chen and a few of his followers stepped in and pointed their guns into the direction of the others while Lawrence followed short after. His gaze fell on the trio and he quickly put on his self assured face again. "Well… here we are again!" He said with his hands behind his back. "How often did this happen by now?" He asked and the three comrades stared at each other with upward turned edges of their mouths.

Yet as Lawrence could see to what the trio stood in front of, his mimic changed from anger and despise to desire. With two men pointing their guns at the group, he began walking to the construction in the middle. His gaze fell on the blue liquid in the middle and he immediately was caught by the light coming from it. He rested his hands on the sides of the bowl completely forgetting the others in the room.

He was about to put his hands into the Amrita as Nathan was the first to draw a gun and held it into the direction of the bearded man before cocking it. Lawrence shook up with everybody present getting tensed and nervous. "Not so fast buddy!" Nathan called with the other American backing up from him.

Charlie and Chris also had their guns pulled with Charlie directing his rifle at the group behind. Chris had his Beretta directed towards Lawrence as well. While the three western men kept themselves put with their guns, it was Chen that came walking closer with his gun pulled but constantly staring at the door where the key is needed.

Drake and Cortina noticed that and both gave each other a short wink with Lawrence still having his interest put on the Amrita. "It is interesting; we all play with the lives of other people, even you Mr. Drake." He added and faced the treasure hunter staring at him. "And here we are, all wanting the same… eternal life for us all. Isn't that right?" He asked with the corner of his on him.

"Speak for yourself; I'm here to prevent you from getting achieving your goal!" Drake responded quick not dropping down his gun one bit.

"Money!" Chris went in from his spot.

"Power!" Chen grunted still having his eyes directed on the door.

The troops around Lawrence and Chen kept observing the scene waiting for the men in front of them to make their move and for their bosses to give them orders. Lawrence for his part had finally laid his interest more in the direction of his enemies than in the blue liquid in the bowl. His gaze wandered off to Chen who stared back at him with a mix of indifference about the people around the place of the Amrita.

Moments later, the bearded man had found his confidence back as he then glanced back on the three in front of him. "Do you really think that you still can win?" He asked with a self assured face. "One movement from me and my and Mr. Chen's men will storm over you." He said still holding his gun at Nate.

But Nathan didn't even think about backing down from him and he quickly raised his gun again. "I think we three can take care of you!" he replied with confidence and knowing the other two being close to him.

Yet then again, even though he had the thought running through his mind for the last hours, he had forgotten about it in that moment. Chris stared into the round before pulling a second Barretta and pointing it at Nathan's head. "That depends!"

Drake closed his eyes for a short moment before realizing what was going on while Charlie quickly pointed his rifle at the Canadian. "Hey pal, wrong move!" He called while Nathan and Chris eyed each other.

"So! You finally stopped weighing your options?"

"Not quite, but I seem to get a tendency!" The mercenary replied with the rest staring at them with confusion and uncertainty.

* * *

**Author's note: **13 down, 2 to go. See you next week when we had into the final.


	14. Last man standing

And we're back.

Thanks for coming back for the conclusion of this Story. Got nothing to say right so... let's dive directly in.

* * *

**-14 –**

Last man standing

* * *

None of them dared to do anything with Lawrence smiling even brighter and walking closer to the American treasure hunter. "Seems like even your own friends seem to not believe in the things you do. How do you think you can beat if you can't even beat each other?" he asked arrogant and smirked towards Chris and then to Drake. "Mr. Chen, could you please get rid of these guys!?" He then requested without facing the Asian.

Seconds went by without that Chen said a single word and slowly but steady, Lawrence began to question himself and he stared over to the Asian. The man stared back at the American with his gun still directed at Drake right before he pulled out a second one himself and pointing it directly at Lawrence.

At once, hectic began to rise underneath the bad guys' men as they redirected their weapons on each other instead of the trio ahead. Lawrence looked completely hit on the wrong foot glaring over to Chen. "What the hell are you doing?" he questioned with Chris in the back chuckling to himself.

"I guess that's the part where Jet LI begins to cross you." He remarked what was followed by an angry growl from Chen.

He walked closer to them with all five having their guns directed at other people. "Oh trust me Cowboy, you're next." He began while pointing his eyes on Drake again. "The key to the door!" He demanded as Lawrence got even more confused.

Drake kept his calm while he glanced down shortly and then back on the rest. "What does it do?" He asked back already kind of knowing what was going on. But then again, it couldn't hurt to ask.

Only moving the head slightly to the side and without moving, Chen began to explain. "I have seen so many people getting killed by guns and other things that it could count for two lives. But does any of you have an idea how many people die due to floods and other catastrophes caused by water. The numbers let the gunfire casuals seem like an accident. That is the true power, the power to control the oceans of the world. That is power."

Quickly, Drake and Charlie let their gazes meet and they rolled their eyes. But the Asian man kept ranting on and on. "Do you know what can be caused by incidents with water? Hurricane Katrina, the Tsunamis in Thailand and Japan, the flood in Bangladesh, Germany in 2001. Even great nations like the USA are unable to control all the causes that come with something like that."

A sort glance over to Chris showed Nathan that the Canadian was thinking the same thing about the Asian's sanity. But then again, he still continued. "With the power of the Sarira, I have the fate of every nation in south-east Asia. Countries Sumatra, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, they all are in my grasps once I have the Sarira. They all…"

"We get the idea!" Charlie then intertwined annoyed brining his rant to a halt. Chris chuckled more to himself than to the rest as he heard the others and Chen finally stopped.

After cocking his gun again and now pointing it at Charlie, he once again renewed his demand. "The key to the door!" He once again repeated and right away began staring over to Lawrence. "What does it feel like Mr. Lawrence… to experience what it feels like to be the stupid one for once?"

Right away, the trio could see the annoyance and the frustration that was building up inside the bearded man. But Chen never let the American talk and instead started to speak himself. "Face it, my men are much higher in number than yours. And if that wasn't enough, you're not going to make it out of here alive. Your dream of immortality will pop like a balloon."

"No interest in getting eternal life yourself?" Nathan asked still not dropping his gun.

But Chen kept smirking to himself. "That's just a little bonus I am going to take with me." He said and cone again stared deep into the eyes of Cutter. "Now… about that key to the door!?" he gave away with even more demand in his voice than before.

Charlie and Nathan looked around each other. The Asian man was right. Though Lawrence and his men were no longer on the side of Chen, they were still way more than them. And the fact that Cortina was no longer on their side either, made them even more desperate.

Drake gave his friend a short nod and Charlie slowly began walking towards the wooden door. He stretched out his arm and placed the small piece of crystallized bone in the hole in the door. Clicks appeared and indicated that the door had opened.

Everybody present turned their gaze to the door and stared at what they were going to find inside. They all got shined on with golden light that blinded them for a short moment. Charlie and Chen along with Chris and Drake stared to the inside of the room which who's walls were completely made of gold. Drake could see a small podium in the middle with several silver shining objects coming from it.

"Finally." Chris silently muttered and raised his voice. "CUTTER!" He called and quickly jumped to the side. As if in slow motion, he dropped one gun to the ground while firing a shot at Chen. Charlie saw that and quickly ripped the door open before jumping to the side.

The bullet missed the Asian but only strived the arm of him while the rest stared around in shock. Chris then grabbed to his back and pulled out a small package before throwing it inside the door. "CLOSE THE DOOR!" He then called and Charlie shoved the door back again. Nathan didn't waste a second and quickly rolled to the side grabbing Charlie by the arm and shoving both behind the construction and the bowl.

In the meantime, Lawrence's and Chen's men began fighting with each other right before the Canadian stared over the boulder and spotted Chen getting back to his feet. He right away ran straight forn him and hitting the Asian shoulder first with both falling to the ground.

Nathan stared over to them but neither had the time nor the interest in figuring out what the other one was planning right now. He raised his gun and fired over to the group of their enemies as each one of them began hiding outside of the room behind the door frame.

With them being occupied, not only with Nate and Cutter, but also the other parties as well, the masses of bad guys slightly moved and left the field open for the other five containing our heroes and the two bad guys.

Nathan fired once more from his handgun right before he had to reload and glare to the side with his gaze locking on Lawrence. The bearded man kneeled in a corner and then made contact with the younger American. Both raised their guns and pointed at each other ready to fire. But before any of that could happen, Nathan got grabbed from the side as one of Lawrence's men tackled him.

The two landed straight in the wall tumbling to the side right before Lawrence was willing to shoot him from the distance. But then again, he had to duck himself as Cutter gave away a warning shot that missed him only by inches.

Charlie himself got shoved to the side by another man was the two began fighting of their attackers hand to hand. The one attacking Drake pushed him against the wall with his left forearm pressing his throat. Nate kept pushing him away with his hand while holding on to the other one. Slowly, the American shifted his position as he was able to slightly squeeze to the side.

Now being able to breathe a bit, he tensed his right arm and rammed his elbow to the side if the head of the other man. He grabbed the arm of the other one and right threw his enemy into the wall himself before ramming the head against the stone and wooden wall.

Meanwhile, Lawrence walked closer once again completely caught by the sight of the amrita in the bowl. Resting both his hands o the side with his gun in one, he lowered his head and reached out his hand to sink it in the liquid. But he didn't get that far as Charlie and the one he was fighting collided with him and let the gun fall out of his head.

Charlie kept head-butting the other one who sank to the ground. Both Drake and Cutter now stared at the bearded American as they all walked around the bowl in the middle ready to fight each other. "Why can't you just die and be gone?" Taylor asked in frustration searching for his gun.

Charlie could see two other guys getting back into the room ready for a fight as he right away leaped forward to engage them. That left Nathan and Lawrence the two ones left to fight each other. They ran at each other as the first swing coming from Lawrence flew over the younger American before he received an upper cut.

While that was going on, Chen and Cortina were still going at each other. Quickly, the exchanged kicks and hits with each one of them blocking the other. Chris went for a spin kick with the Asian ducking underneath and trying to sweep the Canadian. Both came around and with another kick and only hit the other ones calve.

Chris and Chen both grabbed their legs as they hurt but quickly recovered and threw another series of martial arts punches at each other. Chen came up with a front kick with Cortina slightly stepping to the side and trying to kick the other man into the back of his leg. But Chen let himself fall to the front and catching the Canadian on the chin as he sailed through the air and landed hard on the ground.

After they both stared at each other, Chen walked up and tried to hammer his foot onto the chest of the mercenary as Chris did a break dance move knocking Chen off his feet. With a quick jump they both got up and then continued kicking and hitting each other again.

Nathan continued to hit Lawrence in the face as he had pushed him against the wall. The bearded man's head swung from left to right before he grabbed both sides of Nathan's head and pushed his knee into Drake's groin. The treasure hunter tumbled back with Lawrence swinging a hard right hand on Nate's head. He tumbled further as he collided with his back on the construction of the bowl.

Chen jumped over a sweep attempt right before he tried to counter with a hight spin kick which got blocked from Cortina and his right under arm held above his head. The Canadian counter with an elbow to the head and then bringing a kick straight to the stomach which forced the Asian to tumble and lose his focus for a second.

By the moment he stared back up straight again, he could see Cortina running at him once again and bringing a jump kick directly at the chest of the Asian and make him fly through the room and colliding with the back wall.

While that was going on, Lawrence had shoved Drake even more into the bowl construction and tried to strangle the American treasure on the spot. With all his might, Nathan managed to pulled the hands to the side and breathe again before ramming his knee in a very sensitive section of the bearded man.

He tumbled backwards and groaned in pain as Drake came forth and gave him a right hand right before coming with a left hook. With each hit, Lawrence tumbled to the side and backwards before Drake brought his hands together to a single fist and hitting him for the last time.

Lawrence dropped to the ground breathing heavily and gasping in pain right before he stared at the other one with the corner of his eyes. A numb thump on the side showed both Charlie standing over the last two men left as he also kept breathing heavy and having his hands resting on his knees.

"You know Lawrence!" Drake began under heavy breath. "It's stuff like this…" He added and pointed his finger towards the bowl beside him. "… that makes people like us do things that we regret later on." Nathan stopped once again tumbling over to the bowl.

Lawrence gritted his teeth and slowly got back on one knee. "There is nothing… that would make me regret the things I do in order to gain eternal life." His eyes wandered through the place and he began smirking again. "And you too… will find out… how something like that is so achievable."

* * *

Before either one of the people present could react, Lawrence grasped his ankle and pulled out a small pistol before firing. And though Nathan was able to dodge the bullet, he could hear a scream of pain going through the air. He turned around and found Charlie nearly collapsing to the ground and as he held his left leg.

In the back, Chris and Chen stared up at the noise and both quickly ducked as Lawrence fired again with the small revolver. Another bullet hit the Canadian on the shoulder as he himself tumbled around for a short moment. He tumbled against the stone construction and the eyes of the bearded man widened in shock.

"No!" He said and quickly ran over as the mercenary tumbled over the bowl. He tried to shove Chris away but was already too late. With the corner of his eye, he could see a small drop of blood falling down and colliding with the liquid. Instantly, the Amrita changed its color as it took the one of a crimson red.

Lawrence shoved Chris away as he faced the stuff with horror and shock. "What have you done? You ruined it!" He said and hammered his fist on the side of the construction. "How do you think this stayed in its natural form for the whole time? One single drop, takes the power of the nectar away." Disappointed and with tears in his eyes, Lawrence rested his head on the side as he kneeled down feeling completely empty.

A few yards away, Nathan kneeled down beside Charlie and quickly tried to lift him back up. The English man grunted in pain as gritted his teeth. "Bloody wankers, why does it ever have to be the leg?" He muttered through pain while Nathan tried to get him back to his feet.

"Come on Charlie! We have to get out of here." He said and threw the arm of his friend over his shoulder. With the amrita destroyed, at least Drake thought so, they had screwed Lawrence's plan over at least. But with Charlie hurt right now, he had something more important to do. And then again, there was the small device that Chris threw in the room to screw Chen over. With Nate supporting Charlie, they turned around ready to leave.

But that wasn't so easy anymore. "You are going nowhere!" Lawrence shouted from his place directing the gun at the two treasure hunters. "I don't care how often I had to point a gun at you in the last weeks. But I am sure that this will be the last time." Anger and hatred came out of his voice as he extracted his gun with his arm.

In the back Chris came rolling forward landing on his back in front of the American before kicking the gun out of his head and hitting Lawrence in the stomach. "GET OUT!" Chris screamed and right away elbowed Lawrence in the stomach.

Both Drake and Charlie stared in surprise before shrugging their shoulders and heading for the door while leaving the other three behind and to themselves. Drake quickly peaked around the corner and found the corridor leading towards them being completely empty. Except for the few bodies that lied on the floor.

Nathan quickly, grabbed an AK on the ground and moved both of them through the corridor back to the statue where the entrance lied. "How you doin?" He asked as he lifted a Para 9mm from the ground and handed it over to Charlie.

"I'm feeling fantastic, thanks for asking!" He replied in sarcasm,

Both made their way through the corridor and finally reached the stairs back up. Nate could hear gunfire on the outside while he checked of the mag was still loaded. He peeked over the edge of the entrance and was relieved to not see anyone outside. The fight must take place on the outside.

Nathan dropped his friend for a short moment before he brought out his radio. "Come on Chloe, can you hear us?" He asked while trying to contact their friend on the outside with the chopper. But all he got was static coming from the end of the line. Frustrated, he dropped the radio again and stored it in his harness. "Should have seen this coming, we're too deep in the mountain for her to hear us."

With a sigh, he lifted the English man back up and continued on their way.

* * *

By the time the other two had exited the room of the Amrita and were back in the hall of the temple, the other three were still in the room holding two guns in their hands and pointing at the other one. Lawrence as well as Chen held a frustrated and nasty expression seeing how one of them had been stopped to achieve his goal, and the other one not reaching it and still haven't corrected tat.

"How often do we have to pull this Mexican stand-off shit off?" The Canadian mercenary said with a slick smirk and slowly moving around but still keeping his position between Chen and the wooden/golden door.

"So long until you move and give me what I want." The Asian man replied and gritting his teeth even more.

All the time while the other two were trying to get to each other, Lawrence searched for the right moment to exit this place and go after Drake and Cutter. But then again, the moment he decided to move, he was the one getting shot instead of Nathan.

But for the moment, no one moved and tried anything stupid. "Come on rice cooker! Make my day!" Chris called from his spot with both guns not dropping a single inch.

Yet Chen tried to stay completely calm, even though the other two could tell that he was boiling with anger. "Right after you Mountie!" No one still dared to move until both slowly dropped their guns pointed at each other.

Lawrence caught this and right away tried to run. Chris and Chen stared at him before they each went for each other again. Chris tried to kick one of the guns out of his hand but caught as Chen was quicker on the draw. He shot the Canadian in the arm which caused him to cry pout in pain. Chen then kicked him in the stomach and Chris fell to the ground in pain.

Once again, the Asian didn't waste any time and went straight for the door ripping it open from the start. Again, he stared into the golden room and even had to cover his faces as he got blinded by the brightness of the color inside. Right away, he ran for the podium in the middle where he could find the Sarira of Rahu.

Though he should have dealt with Cortina instead, he was completely amazed by the aura that came from the small objects of power. "Unbelievable!" He said as he took the pair of crystals and straight into them. He could see his own reflection in them as his mouth dropped open more and more.

"The power to control the oceans of the world in my hands… I will be unstoppable… I will be… the ruler of all of Asia." He added and quickly turned around to find something that he could store them in." A small black case lied on the ground and he could see small deepening's made for the crystals. After storing them inside, he turned around for the door again. But that was when he found the surprise of his life.

Chris stared at him with his Barretta pointed at him and an evil smirk on his face. "Better keep close attention to your surroundings before going after the evil relict." He said and fired.

The bullet hit the Asian in the middle of the stomach and he stumbled backwards. Blood came out of his wound and he fell onto his butt while staring at the Canadian with complete shock. He stared up at Chris and searched for any chance to get back up.

With a now triumphant face, Chris walked back through the door as he smirked down on the Asian again. "Though I would like to know what one would pay for these things on the black market, the thought about you not getting anywhere is really tempting."

He stopped at the end of the room with Chen now crawling over the ground and trying to catch up with the Canadian. "You… you… bastard!" he stumbled in English before going on in Thai curses which the mercenary understood all too well."

"You can call me what you want! But you better practice to speak the language of Mr. C4 over there!" With that last word, Chris pointed at the bomb that he had thrown earlier into the room before taking last smirk of triumph at the Asian before closing the door. Chen immediately screamed out in hatred with the door shut and leaving him alone.

After pulling the crystal out of the hole in the door and dropping it on the ground, Chris kicked the thing away as it rolled and tumbled over the ground through the door. With the adrenalin rush of before running of, the bruises and bumps on his body began hurting and aching. But then again, he couldn't afford to ease up since there were still people out there trying to kill him and them.

Just like Nathan and Charlie, he too found himself standing in the main hall of the temple again while he slowly and with his handgun raised to the entrance hearing gunfire on the outside. Slowly, he peaked through the door and found Chen's men running through the place while shouting and firing into the distance.

After stepping outside and standing on the top of the next pair of stairs, Cortina brought his hand to his chin and pondered for a short time. "What did I…?" he thought trailing off before he got it again. "Oh right… almost forgot!" He finally said pulling out the trigger of his bomb before pushing the trigger.

* * *

Nathan hectically and in panic peeked over a come down wall as he tried to get the leftovers from the Asian man away from them. And when he didn't do that, he turned around to give Charlie something to tie off the wound. The English man spotted a group of two people standing on a roof and firing at them as he pulled his own gun and got one of them right between the eyes.

Hearing the firing from his friend, Nathan turned around quickly and shot with his AK at the other one who dropped down immediately. Nate wasted no time and picked Cutter up again before he dragged him along two. "Come on Charlie, we have to keep moving!" He said as he could hear yet another group of people coming their way. _How many of these guys does he have left?_

With the American dragging him along, Charlie tried his best to keep the back of the duo free. He spotted another one coming from the side out of a small ally as he got ready to throw his grenade. Charlie was quick and gave him another shot in the leg.

The Asian dropped the grenade and had to watch as the grenade went off and made him sail through the air in a wall. "Haha, still got it!" he muttered under exhaustion and pain while he could feel Nate moving forward again. After he grabbed his radio, Cutter once again tried to get in contact with Chloe but then again there was yet another static.

Drake dropped his pal once again against a house before he sat down beside seeing how there were so many people out there in front and around them. He could see five people in cover on the nest road. Another three laid on a building, and yet another group of five were blocking the rest of the streets.

But all that was soon forgotten as everybody present could hear the giant noise filling the whole mountain and caused the place to erupt. The next thing, they saw was that the wall where the giant temple stood began losing several parts of the walls to crumble down. Pillars and other pieces fell to the ground as well while even the ground underneath them erupted as well.

And to the horror of everybody, the whole side of the cave began coming down in the distance.

Right beside the temple, Chris turned around as he could feel the eruption again. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open almost to the ground as he saw what was going on. "Oh… shit!"

* * *

Right away, part of the ceiling came down and already began to make the hole in the middle of the thing coming down. Nathan had just enough time to bring Charlie out of range as a huge rock of debris came down behind them. The ground shook again and Charlie and Drake stared at each other in shock. "Alright, that's our cue!" Nate called and they began moving again.

Luckily for them, the rest of their enemies had the same idea as they ran for their lives too wth the whole place coming down. The trio on the roof tried to jump off as another huge block came down and flattened them right through the house and on the ground.

With the far wall coming, everything got buried underneath it with houses and other stuff getting destroyed right away. And unless Chloe wasn't able to get them, they had to make their exit through the labyrinth again. If they even made it that far. Nathan stared to the side in panic while he tried to calculate where the next debris would fall on and possibly crush them.

Where he kept staring, rocks fell on houses and streets leaving only damage behind. The only good thing about that was that the other people had stopped shooting at them for quite a while. Charlie stared around as well as Nate stared around. "Are you really going to drag me through this crap? You could be way faster and out of here without me." The English man said while he stared up at his friend.

"We didn't leave you behind in Syria, and I am not planning to start now." Drake shortly replied with both of them continuing.

The ground kept erupting more and more with the American having a hard time keeping balance. Luckily for them, the hole in the center of the mountain ceiling already was that big that once they got to the center and the octagon in the middle that they could be save from the rocks for a short time.

Again, Nathan tried to contact Chloe and this time didn't get static. "Chloe… CHLOE… COME IN!" He almost screamed through the line. But there was no answer coming from the Australian woman. Drake turned the radio on again. "I don't know if you can hear us or not, but we really need a lift down here. Or else we're done for!" he said with the weight of the words flying through the air.

Charlie in the meantime, directed his gun around and around searching for any more hostiles coming their way. He had a hard time keeping his arms up due to the blood lost of his wound and the fact that they had been on edge for the last hours.

Nathan finally put the radio back in his gear and lifted the English man up again. "We have to reach the entrance if we have to get out of here by our own." Even though Drake seemed calm on the outside, he knew that there was no chance for them to leave through the tunnel. Though at least the place they were in that moment was safe from the debris above.

"Uhm… Nate!?" Charlie then said and both treasure hunters turned around back on the giant temple.

And that was when they saw that the ground in front of them started to fall down and vanish in darkness. "OH CRAP!" Nate said right away and the two picked up the pace. The falling of the ground wasn't that fast, but that didn't mean that it wasn't catching up with them.

By now, Nathan and Charlie had found the main street that headed straight for the stairs where they had found the entrance. Glaring to the right, Charlie could see some of Chen's men running away in a sprint while trying to not get crushed by the falling rocks.

The noise from the erupting earth and the falling ceiling was so loud that Nathan had to scream every single word he had to encourage Charlie with to keep going. "COME ON CHARLIE! We can do it!" he said continuing to drag him along. "Come one, we're almost there!" He said again as they reached a giant plaza right in front of the stairs.

But out of the sudden, another rock from above landed directly beside them with the eruption knocking them both of their feet. Drake had to shake his head as he stood on his knees and his hands. He glared up to the tunnel where could see a few of the soldiers vanishing through the entrance.

Another heavy eruption and Nathan as well as Charlie had to witness that dust came flying out of the tunnel and short after seeing the entrance being buried and blocked by huge rocks and debris from inside and outside.

Nathan's heart dropped to the ground immediately even thought he knew that that exit wasn't that safe from the beginning. Nate crawled towards Charlie and got him back to his knees. The English men was almost out of breath and was even close to collapsing while Nathan tried to contact Chloe again. "CHLOE! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

His gaze wandered back down and he could make out a small figure running towards their place while the rest of the ground vanished behind him. Nathan had to lock twice to notice that it was Chris that was coming towards them.

The Canadian was battered and bruised all over the place. His shirt was cut and trashed with his skin turned black and red from the blood and the wound he had sustained. As a precaution, Nathan grasped his AK ready to react if the mercenary was trying something funny.

Chris had to dodge another two rocks coming from above as he reached the duo with a jump and already rested his hands on his knees. "Hey! Don't leave without me again!" He half joked and half demanded as he tried to catch his breath.

Staring around again, Nathan turned to the sky hoping that he could see the chopper with Chloe piloting coming to get them. In front, the octagon building had already fallen apart and vanished down below. Another piece of rock landed behind them and all three began to realize that this might be the end for them. And then Nathan realized what caused this whole misery. "What have you done?" Nathan asked ready to beat Cortina up again but decided not to since this was not the place.

The treasure hunter's voice was angry and he was almost screaming at the other man. But Chris wasn't going to back down, the stress and the hopelessness of their situation was enough for him to scream back. "If I had known that this place was so easy to destroy, I would have done something different." He leaned close to Charlie staring it the wound of his leg. "Got to admit, you are one tough son of a bitch." Chris added while turning back on the American at his side.

Right away, he began looking around the area and on the falling pieces surrounding them. "Now would be a good time for your friend to come down here and get us out." The mercenary added while another large piece of the cave wall came down beside them.

Nathan saw that two and held his hand in front of his face as if that could have protected him. "Agreed, but I think we better go somewhere where are less of a target to the rocks." He added exhausted and still tensed. "Help me with this."

Together, the two tried to lift Charlie from the ground while Both stayed on one knee. Chris felt some pain coming from his shoulder and slowly turned back before grabbing the zippers on his Kevlar vest. "I got to get rid of this thing. I can barely breathe."

Drake noticed the cuts and bruised that lied all over the body of the Canadian which made him reflect on his own body. Cortina stood back up as he tried to adjust some parts of his gear as he searched the area. "Where is Lawrence?" He asked pulling a gun out of his gear before letting the Kevlar vest onto the ground.

"I have no idea! He left the temple before us and I haven't seen him since. Where is Chen?" Drake asked back.

Chris smirked to himself as he rubbed his hand together to get some of the blood off from them. "I killed him, and I destroyed the Sarira. You can thank me la…"

_BANG!_

The clear sound of gunfire appeared and Nate along Chris began to grew wide eyes. Both stared down on the mercenary's chest and could see a crimson point growing on him. Cortina himself spotted it and both realized that he had been shot. Fear and panic rose inside Cortina and he stared directly into the eyes of Drake before he spoke. "Wow, how ironic!"

With that said he sank to the side and fell flat on the ground. Nathan right away, went to his knees and checked the ulse of the Canadian. But he could see nothing. There was no life in his eyes, there was no movement, and there was no pulse. "Oh Crap!"

He then stared up ahead and saw Lawrence standing on the plaza as well as he held his small revolver in his head and fired again. Nathan quickly reached for a stone and threw it in the direction of the bearded man who was about to fire. Lawrence had to dodge as he fired so he missed the two other men alive. He tried to fire again but Drake had already ran up to him and grabbed the arm with the gun.

Another shot happened but only hit the ground. Short after, Lawrence managed to shove Nathan off as he landed on the ground and saw the determined eyes of his enemy as he pulled the trigger. Drake closed his eyes knowing that it was over.

_CLICK!_

There was no other shot coming from the gun. Again and again, the bearded man pulled the trigger but saw nothing happening. Frustrated and having no bullets left. Lawrence threw the gun at Drake who held his arm in front of him to avoid the pain.

"GOD WHY!" He screamed not believing that in this situation, he was out of bullets and finally had the time to kill the man that was his nemesis for the last weeks. He turned his back on the American while throwing his arms up before bringing them back to his hips. But right away, he turned back around and faced Nathan again raising his fists. "Come on Drake, hand to hand combat!" He said challenging the American that was completely surprised and shocked.

_He's got to be kidding!?_ "Are you NUTS?! This whole place is going to be destroyed in a few seconds. We all gonna die down here!" He yelled trying to get some sense in the man in front of him.

But it seemed that all the saneness that was once inside the American gangster had completely vanished him. "We all have to die at one point, no other day than this one had shown me that. What could be more fitting than the two of us fighting at a place like this, the last place to range immortality?" He then challenged again raising his fists again.

But Drake was the first to throw a punched with Lawrence blocking it with his right arms and striking him across the face. Nathan tumbled before he held both hands in front of his stomach to prevent Lawrence's knee from connecting. With a quick motion, Nate brought hid head up and slammed the bearded man on the chin before he hit him with a left hook.

Nathan charged again yet got his arm grabbed by Lawrence who pulled him closer and hammered and elbow to his head before kicking him in the chest. Drake went down on one knee before he grabbed a kick from Lawrence and threw him to the ground before towering above him and doing a ground and pound on him.

His fists hurt every time it collided with the face of the neared American and he grunted out with every punch. After a few punches, Lawrence rolled Drake around by his collar before he gave him a fist with clenched together fingers.

Both men fell to the ground again breathing heavily. By that point, the danger from above was not that big anymore. There were only small pieces of rock coming down. But the problem with the falling ground and the big cracks that had begun to appear on the walls were even more frightening than the rest.

Again and again, Drake and Lawrence exchanged firsts before Lawrence had the upper hand and send the treasure hunter falling to the ground with a final blow. Drake now lied on his back while he stared up to the other American swiping some blood of his face.

Staring at Charlie in the back, Taylor kept smiling and searched the side beside his feet from something. And that was when he found a rock lying just big enough to smash the head of his enemy. He slowly grabbed it and raised it above his head before staring down on Nate again. "So long!" He quickly added and stepped over Drake.

Noise appeared from above and both stared up to see a giant black object coming from above. Nathan's face lit up right away as he saw the helicopter (hopefully with Chloe) coming their way. And that was the chance that Nathan needed.

As Lawrence looked up as well, he quickly clenched his fist as he charged forward and kicking him in the nuts again which forced the bearded man to let go and have the rock fall on his head. It didn't knock him out completely since he only tumbled around dizzy and without orientation.

Drake caught that immediately and slid across the ground for the body of Chris as he still found a gun attached to his gear. He quickly grabbed it and pointed it at Lawrence who just in time turned to face him with shock.

"So long yourself… dipshit!" The treasure hunter called before firing.

The bullet hit Lawrence directly in the middle of the eyes and he fell backwards on his back while extracting his arms and legs to all directions. Drake kept his eyes locked on his enemy for a while before he dropped the gun.

As Nathan turned back around to lift Charlie up, the helicopter landed directly beside them and Chloe came storming up to them and directly grabbed the English man with panic in her eyes. "Oh god Charlie, not again!" She called as they dragged him over to the chopper. Drake turned his head staring at the body of the Canadian mercenary who lied beside the other American and he asked himself if he should get them too.

But there was no time for that, the eruption eating up the ground was getting closer and closer with as the city of Thirmongrung was going to vanish forever. Seeing all the stuff that had was going on, he saw that they barely had a few seconds before it was gone.

"Start the damn thing Chloe. We have to get out of here!" Nate yelled and lifted his friend in the back as screamed out in pain. Nathan didn't waste time and barely got in before the aircraft lifted up. He and Charlie stared back down on the city below where they still could see the Canadian mercenary and the American gangster lying with the ground vanishing into the darkness.

And Seconds after, both were gone forever.

Chloe pulled on the pedals and the stick as they realized that the cracks in the mountain getting bigger and bigger with parts of the wall collapsing. In the back, Drake noticed that as well grabbing on a pipe with the Australian woman tearing out everything that helicopter had to offer.

Higher and higher, the vehicle rose into the air as the wall collapsed. Splitting out stones hit the walls of the chopper and Drake along Charlie took cover from it. Finally, they were high enough with the mountain falling together underneath them and leaving nothing behind than a field of debris and stone. Where once stood the giant mountain now was only something that reminded of a quarry and a destructed cliff.

Drake stared after it and leaned with his back against the steel wall of the chopper, exhausted from the stuff that happened in the last hours. Staring over to Charlie, noticed the satisfied and relieved face of the English man as he gave his friend a thumbs up. Nathan returned the gesture and then quickly grabbed the headset hanging around before he spoke out to the pilot.

"We have to get Charlie into a hospital." He called through the speaker which was followed by a quick 'got it' from Chloe. She turned the stick of the chopper around as it began flying back to the civilization and away from the sight of the previous battle.

Drake rested his arm on his knee as he closed his eyes and let his mind take a rest with the three treasure hunters flying away, leaving Thrimongrung, the amrita, the Sarira of Asura Rahu and the last evidences of the Tangnamgrah behind them.

* * *

**Author's note: **And that's about it. Just one more chapter to go which will be the epilogue to this Story.

And until then... take care.


	15. Epiloge

Here we are, the final chapter of my Uncharted Story. Final words will be Held after the chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

**-15–**

Epiloge

* * *

"_Many speculations have appeared over the last days of what could have happened to let this giant mountainside collapse without any warning. Since the area had not been cleared from any seismic activities, the area around the mountain remains to be a restricted zone." _

A woman with a blond messy pony tail said into a microphone inside a television standing in front of a mountain panorama giving away report. She wore a whit button up shirt pulled up to her elbows.

"_Up to this point, there have been no reports of any casualties, but the search missions are still going on. Locals reported about helicopters that flew around the mountain hours before the event happened. But the local government still didn't confirm on any of that."_

Sitting on a white colored couch in front of the television sat two people listening to the report with interest.

One of them was a woman that looked just like the one that was currently on television. She sat on the left side with one leg above the other and her arms resting on her upper legs. The other one was a man with brown spiked hair having his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Several plasters were laid on his head and he held his wrists in bandages along with a big one on the shoulder.

He scratched his left shoulder moving the half sleeve of his grey shirt upwards before staring back down on her. "Sooner or later, they're gonna find the crashed chopper and the bodies inside. And then… but they'll never find out what really happened back in the jungle." He said and tilted his head of the ceiling of the room while racing his hand through his face.

At his side, Elena tilted hers to the side while she smirked and stared back at him. "But then again, they will have a lot of questions about that, like what was up with the military gear standing around the place." She kinda asked but mostly made clear that the actions that took place between Nathan Drake and a bunch of soldiers of fortune.

"And since the government will cover up how their stuff had gotten stolen from one of their facilities. And that is something that they don't want to get public." Drake replied folding his arms and leaning back again.

The place the two found themselves in right now. Seemed like a giant apartment. The walls were white colored and the couch along two armchairs in one corner covering up one half of the room. The other part was filled with a kitchen that had more appeal of a bar than a full kitchen.

Nathan turned around with his hands in his hips while he stared through the giant window on the sea that lied just behind the white colored beach. The wind kept running through the palm trees and the sun shined down on the crystal clear water. "Think about what could have happened if Chen would have used the Sarira and brought something like a flood to this place."

Seeing how her husband got more and more sunken in thoughts, Elena stood up and right away began walking over to him again. Drake kept talking as she grabbed his hand. "Imagine all the lives that would have ended that day…"

He trailed off and Elena leaned her head on his shoulder. "Good thing you didn't!" She said recalling the many crazy and evil people she and Nathan had come across in their life so far.

"You got that right!" Nathan simply remarked throwing an arm around her.

A clicking appeared behind them and the two turned around to see the wooden door of the apartment open up. They went tensed for a short moment but relaxed as they saw Chloe and Sully stepping through with bags in their hands.

Both the Journalists and Treasure hunter's faces lit up as they walked back and greeted to the newcomers with a smile. "Hey! How's Charlie doing?" He asked the Australian woman who entered first and winked to them.

She sat down on one of the chairs in the room dropping the bag on the ground beside it. "Given the circumstances, he's fine. The operation went along fine and he's getting transferred to London by tomorrow." Chloe replied leaning back and pulling out a piece of paper.

"Took a lot of convincing and persuading to explain the wound in order for them to not raise any questions." Sully called from the back as he stopped in the small kitchen and took a few ice cubs and a glass from it.

There was a slight amount of relieve inside Drake as he heard about his shot friend being well. He stared once again on the bags that lied on the ground and could figure out the rest. "I guess you are not staying here with us then huh?"

Chloe nodded and then folded the piece of paper back in of the bags. "Yep! There has to be somebody to get that British back into place. And since I don't want to ruin your vacation, I thought I keep myself busy with the journey." She said as she got handed a glass of water from the Sullivan in the back.

The gazes of the quartette turned off to the side back on the television that still showed footage of the destroyed mountain in northern Thailand. Sully folded his arms while bringing a glass of whiskey to his mouth. The grey heard man tilted his head to his long life friend and began talking again. "Looks like you once again did it." He remarked pointing with his thumb to the TV and folding his arms again.

Nathan eyed him again and nodded his head. "Seems that way, but this time… it was for a good cause. But it's not that we paid a high prize once again. Or rather… almost paid a high prize for the right cause." He then said thinking back to that night in the basement of the villa in India and the wounds they sustained in the northern parts of the country.

A short moment of silence lied over Nate and Chloe as their mind were once again brought back to Chris Cortina and the ways and encounters they had with him. In the end, he really was an important ally. On that really helped them out with their last adventure.

In the meantime, Sully had finished his drink and put the glass back on the counter of the kitchen before walking up to Nate. "Well, I think I better get going. My flight is going off soon." He said extracting his arm to give Nathan a hug. "I see you when you get back." He added while he and the younger American padded each other on the back-

"Take care Sully!" Drake replied before letting go of his friend who turned his attention towards Elena.

They embraced with Elena giving her farewell to him. "Should we get you to the airport?" She asked in kindness moving her right hand through her hair.

"Oh that won't be necessary!" He replied tilting his head towards Chloe in the back. "She's gonna give me a lift." Sully added before walking through the door and opening before stopping in the frame. "Hey uhm… just do me a favor."

Both Nathan and Elena turned around with dumbfounded expressions and raised eyebrows before Victor began talking again. "Next time you visit a museum and find a bunch of dudes with guns in there… get the hell out of there." He said and left the apartment without another word while Chloe gave away a short 'bye' vanishing after him.

The two people left stared at each other before shrugging their shoulders. They turned around and Nathan once again threw his arm around Elena walking through the door to the veranda of their apartment. The sun had begun setting and the sky was already held in an orange light.

"So… how long did your network gave you this vacation and this apartment again?" Nathan asked slyly and nonchalant as the two stopped on the fence surrounding the beach house they were currently in.

Elena leaned in again replying with a relaxed and calm voice. "About three weeks! They really felt bad for me and the things I have been through, along with me being ready to do this report on the spot so that they needed to give me this." She said and staring out on onto the sea and the sun above.

Nathan knew how she felt; the last weeks must have been just as stressful as his own with the fact of her being captured. "That's plenty enough, I really need these moments to relax." He said also staring into the distance. "Do you know how scared I was that I would never see you again?" Nathan asked once again getting a serious tone in on the story.

The blonde woman stared over at him with raised eyebrows and suddenly got an idea. "Uhm… four!" She said slyly wanting to see how her husband was going to react to that.

And she was not going to be disappointed. Drake right away tilted his head back and stared directly into her eyes. "What!? Why would I think that?" He asked back completely shocked and surprised by the sudden outburst from his wife.

"Oh I don't know… I thought that was the standard with you being scared for me." She had one of her eyebrows raised and began resting her elbows on the parapet staring up at him.

Nathan's face got shocked even more. "Now seriously, are you never getting over this again? Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought these guys were going to kill you!"

"You weren't that scared when a freaking grenade exploded right in front of me in the middle of the Himalaya." Elena kept challenging him and turned around leaning with her right side against the parapet.

But Drake once again folded his arms turning left and right for a short time and then getting back on the subject. "I can't believe that after all the things we went through and athe years of our marriage, that you still don't have the trust in my love for you. I mean…"

But he didn't get that far as Elena had grabbed both sides of his head and pressed her lips on his with both of them wrapping their arms around each other and enjoying a long and deep kiss. Short after, she released him and the leaned with her back against the obstacle. "You know I was just kidding right?"

Nathan smile letting his right hand move over her cheek before leaning in on her for another kiss. "Yeah!" He said while the blonde woman turned around leaning against his chest with him wrapping her arms around her. "I think this will be one hell of a vacation for really this time.

Once again, Nathan Drake and his friends had overcome the odds that lied against them. The only difference this time… it wasn't done for treasure and riches… it was done for the right cause and the right thing.

THE END

* * *

**Author's note: **And that's the end of the Story. I hope that you had fun reading and that I could catch some of the things that made the games so enjoyable for me. Thank you guys for staying with me over These chapters.

One last Thing I have to say. Though I generally like th stuff I created. I'm not completely satisfied with th final result of this Story. I originally intended to have this being longer and having more of the main cast of the games interact with each other. It wasn't that good paced than my TLK stories.

And that I think Comes along with the way how I approached this one. Talking about thinking first about places and plots than about the Story as a whole.

But then again, it doesn't Play in the same league as other stories I've read here, Is till had fun writing it can enjoy some passages I wrote myself when I look back.

Thanks for reading and for dropping in comments and PM's.

See you around and have fun reading.


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